Ya-haw! I be back! I apologize sooooooooo much for not updating so soon! I haven't had a lot of time to write over the past five or so days! Oh, and from this point on, I'm not going to be able to update so much. School started today! NOOOOOOOO! Anyway, thanks to thislittlemockingjay97 and FoofToldMe for submitting Lysedri and Hapsan. My wonderful readers agree as well. It means I can update :)
DISCLAIMER: I don't own the Hunger Games. Frown-y face :(
HAPSAN BLAKE'S POV
"Hapsan! Connor! Pace!" Stop your last minute training and eat your breakfast!"
"Coming," I wheezed and sat down on the bench of out backyard arena training area. Really, it's just a large shed and a fenced off corner of our yard. But I use it to train with my friend Connor Hues and younger brother (he's thirteen) Pace. Pace doesn't really come out to train though. He's like a practice dummy. Does he mind? No, or at least on the outside. He doesn't like to practice himself. I'd be a shame if he were reaped today. Pace'd be weighing the Careers down. I'm not mean towards him; he just isn't exactly "arena" material.
"What d'ya thinks gonna for be for breakfast?" Connor asked me. He came over early this morning to practice with Pace and me.
"Probably something disgusting," I answered as the three of us headed up to the house. It's not very good though, since District 4's biggest famous thing is the ocean, and the Justice Building conceals the whole thing. I mean, we don't live right behind it, we just see only bits and flecks from a distance away. Connor's got a better view from his house.
"Ah, here you are," My mom said and set three plates shaped like shells down at our dining room table. On each of them sat a flat, half-circle shaped yellow thing with bits of pink and brown in them, along with white too. "Eat up."
Connor eyed his suspiciously as I took a bite. It tasted good, despite its strange appearance and smell. "Uhm, Mrs. Blake? What is this?"
My mother rolled her brown eyes (the one thing we have in common) and answered, "It's a fish and ham omelet with flecks of scallop. I heard about it from your mother Connor." I nearly gagged on mine. Gross. But Pace and Connor didn't seem to mind. Either that, or they're just trying to be polite.
"Eww, I got the eye! Mom, aren't you suppost to use just the fish meat?" Pace said, holding up his fork. Skewered to the end of his fork was a tiny little fish eye. Yuck.
"I'll use what I want," She said. "And the eyes are good for you. Eat it."
After choking down the rest of my omelet, I went upstairs to get changed out of my sweaty clothes and into my suit. It was the same one my father bought for me using the money from his latest fish shipment. Shark is always a favorite in the Capitol. I never really understood why, though. The silken suit was the color of midnight and buttoned only at the center. The cuff links were shaped like scallop shells and were made out of white ivory inlaid with a sterling silver HB. I wore a vibrant rich red dress shirt under it, black leather shoes, and a navy blue tie that matched my suit. I combed my messy brown hair out with one quick swipe and trumped down the stairs and out the front door, not even waiting for my family. They'd catch up.
Looking at the time on the town clock, I still had a good five minutes to kill before I should head to the Square. I decided to take a walk around town. It was nice out like it always is.
The first thing I passed was the Justice Building. Made out of cobblestone pebbles, bits of shells, some whole shells, and crystallized sand, all inlaid into solid concrete. The layer of beach material was so thick; you couldn't even see the cold grey concrete underneath. Several red-roped squares sat along the sandy pathway to the building. A somewhat small concrete fountain shaped like a conch shell sat in the middle of the circular pathway. Saltwater gurgled up in the shell and spewed into the air in a delicate arc. Two little kids were playing in the water, trying to catch it in their mouths, while being scolded by their laughing mother.
The next thing I passed was the Spokes. The Spokes is a small neighborhood made up of pale blue with white trimmed houses that sit along the shoreline. They have the most spectacular view of the sea. Connor lives up here. He says every morning he can wake up and smell the salt. Maybe that would solve Pace's lack in fighting skill? You never know. Coming out of one of the houses was Lysedri Sprintrose. I only knew Lysedri from school and the incident with the trackerjackers years ago. It's a very private matter and no one likes to talk about it. Not even Lysedri.
The last thing I passed was the ocean. The sun made flecks of light bounce around on the softly swaying cerulean surface. A couple of white-capped waves crashed onto the already wet sand, making it turn a more brownish goldenrod color instead of just plain gold. Several people were on the beach, doing something to take up the time before the reaping at nine. Luckily, not many of them were old enough to understand the physics of the event, let alone know what it is.
A loud crystal and platinum gong sounds out over the ocean, making several waves ripple up from nothing, signaling the start of the reaping. I make my way over, followed by a crowd of people from the Spokes, towards my spot in the seventeen-year-old square. As the last of the townsfolk file in, a man, no younger than fifty, took the stage. He looked almost normal, with salt and pepper hair, with very obvious grey hairs, pale skin, and violet-blue eyes. The only strange thing about him was the fact that his face was tattooed so that a million fat green snakes were slithering around his hairline, up his neck, and around the base of his chin. One serpent was even nipping at the base of his right eye.
"Welcome to the 101st Hunger Games," He said in a slightly cracking voice. "And may the odds be ever in your favor! My name is Havet, and I will be the escort for District 4 this year." He reached his hand into the boy's glass ball. "Shall I read this?" He earned several cheers from the crowd. This guy must have been an escort for a really long time; he's a good one with the crowd. "The boy, from District 4, this year, is – "
LYSEDRI SPRINTROSE'S POV
I love waking up in District 4. It's like being awoken by smelling salts that smell like the ocean, and then being lifted into the air by an invisible force and just left there. Floating in a sea of fragrance. Only us District 4 folk can have that feeling. Others smell smog or, coal or, manure. Blech, I could never live in any other place than here. Well, I could the Capitol, but I'd still miss the salty breeze that comes in through my cracked window. Not, like, broken cracked, but slightly opened crack.
I slip out from my blue silk sheets and put on my fuzzy green slippers under my short nightgown. I make my way down the skinny staircase and into the kitchen, to find only my twin sister, Willabella, seated at our granite island.
"Where's everyone else Bella?" I asked her and sat down on another wooden stool next to her.
"Mom and dad left already for a meeting at the fishing harbor. Early morning skippers don't last long," Bella smiled. My stomach started to growl, and Bella noticed. "Here," She said, passing over a plate full of orange streusel muffins. "Eat up."
"Thank you sooooooooo much," I said, taking a large bite out of one of the warm fruity pastries. Yum, still warm… "What about Rowin, Zenith, and Moxie?" I asked and took another large bite, finishing off one. Rowin, Zenith, and Moxie were our little brothers and sister. Rowin was thirteen, Zenith was twelve, and little Moxie was three.
"They're still asleep," She answered and picked at a piece of bacon. "The reaping doesn't start for another hour. Give them some time to sleep. Its still Zenith's first reaping."
Right. Another one of my siblings is risking their lives for the Games. Me, myself mind it? No. I think I'd fit well in the Games. Would I volunteer just 'cause I could? No. Only to save someone I love. If I get reaped, will I collapse on the floor in tears? No. I wouldn't say a word. If my sister or brother gets reaped, will I collapse on the floor in tears? Yes. But then I'd volunteer.
You get the point.
After breakfast, Willabella and me trekked upstairs to go get dressed. Today, I'm just going to go with a simple blue sundress and white sandals. I don't want to over-complicate myself for this occasion. If I get reaped, I want to be at my most dazzling in the Capitol. Not in my hometown. I then started to scavenge through my dresser drawers for my leather-backed hairbrush. Most hairbrushes here are made of plastic, but ones with leather are extremely durable and make combing out my mess of a hair-do much easier.
"Bella, do you know where my hairbrush is?" I call out to my sister, who's on the other side of the room. Everyone has to be grouped up in pairs 'cause there are only four bedrooms in our house. My parents, Willabella and me, Rowin and Zenith, and then Moxie gets her own.
"It should be in the bathroom where you left it last night," She answers back. I walk all the way down the stairs to our only bathroom and find my brush right where I left it ad started to brush out my reddish-brown hair. It's quite beautiful actually. It falls down to the small of my back ant curls at the very end. Most other people have to dye their hair to get this color, but not me. It's naturally in my hair genes.
"Thank you!" I callback and unlock the front door, "Hey, I'm gonna go, remember to wake them up! Tell them I said good morning!"
"Bye Dri," She answered back and continued to look for her outfit. I exited and made a beeline for the tree line by the edge of the beach; where sand meets grass and wood and pavement. The tree line was made of pure sea oaks, with curly, twisting braches, just starting to bloom with fragrant pink flowers. I seat myself under one of the more larger ones and tuck my dress under me. Sigh, I love these trees. The one I'm under is just as old as me. It was just sprouting when I was born, my mother told me. Ever since then, I'd been calling the tree Dri, after my sister's nickname for me.
"Good morning Dri the Tree," I said and leaned against it's cool, smooth bark. "How are you today?" The tree's branches swayed in the breeze in response. "Yeah, I'm nervous too. I don't want Zenith to get reaped, or Rowin, and definitely not Bella. It just wouldn't do…" Oh, and in case I forgot to tell you, this is the tree that harbored the trackerjacker nest that changed my life.
When I was nine, my friends and me were playing in the tree line; I think it was tag, when Kosher Deen spotted something in the tree: a papery looking thing humming with wasps. A trackerjacker nest. My other friends started to throw stuff at it, like sticks and rocks and shells, but back then, we didn't know the severity of our actions. A few wasps, followed by a few dozen, started to swarm out. Everyone screamed and started to run away as they chased us. Being me, I've never been a fast runner. So when everyone was an excellent distance away, the wasps were slowly enveloping me. Of course, I got stung. My friends ran to go get help, and medics were rushing me to the hospital before I even knew it. Despite their desperate attempts, they could not get all of the venom out. So in the past seven years, every time I get really aggravated, the venom takes over, and I turn into a savage bloodthirsty beast that doesn't even know what she's doing. Oh, and by the way, those "friends" aren't really my friends anymore.
In the distance, I heard the gong sound out. Time to face my possible future.
I make my way into the sixteen-year-old square and find Willabella standing in the back. We stand next to each other and wave to our family in and outside the boxes. I don't even bother to notice the guy on the stage until he calls out the boy tributes name.
"Hapsan Blake," He says in an aged voice. A boy with brunette hair walks up to the stage, takes the slip, and walks away without a word. "Time for the girls now shall we?" Thousands of cheers erupted from the squares and crowd. The man takes a slip right off of the top of the girls bowl, opens it with trembling fingers, and loudly says,
"Willabella Sprintrose."
I couldn't believe what I'd heard, and neither could Bella. My sister was reaped.
"No!" I yell and cling to her and she tries to work her way through the crowded square. Before I know what I'm doing, I push myself ahead of her and shout, "I volunteer!" It's Willabella's turn to cling to me now. I knead her off me and make my way up to the stage. When I reach the man, he asks for my name. I proudly state, "Lysedri Sprintrose."
"That's a brave thing you're doing for your sister there Lysedri," He says in a whisper.
"I know," I say and take the slip before being ushered over into the gritty Justice Building.
HAPSAN BLAKE'S POV
Only four people came to visit me: Connor, Pace, mom, and dad. Connor just congratulated me and left. Pace came to say a brotherly goodbye. And my parents only came through as the harshest.
"Son," My father said in a voice as cold as stone. "You've been training for this your whole life."
"Yes…" I drawl on.
"We're expecting you to win," My mother said in a matching tone. "You have it in you."
"Yeah, but what if I don't?" I ask and cross my arms, curious to what point they were getting at.
"We know you will," My mother said, reassuring me by placing her hand on my shoulder. It didn't make me feel any less tense.
"Otherwise we put all that money and effort into you for nothing," My father completes my mom's sentence with some of the most cruel words ever.
"Gerald!" My mother snapped and glared at my father. "Sweetheart, he just wants you to come home, okay?"
I sighed. "Okay." My mother kissed me on the head and gave me something. It was a wristband made entirely out of metal with an inscription of a bloody axe – my best weapon. "What's this for?"
"It's your token," Mother said and clipped it to my right wrist.
"To remind you that you better do well if you want to ever earn our trust again." My father got another scolding from my mom before they stood up to leave. Right before they reached the door, I called out,
"You only want me to win for the money, don't you father?"
My mother just left the room before she could cry, and my father scowled at me. 'You're going to win, you're going to live the life of the victor, and you're going to love it. Even if it's the last thing you will ever do!" With that, he slammed the door shut.
LYSEDRI SPRINTROSE'S POV
Was this all a dream? Am I living a cruel, horrible nightmare right now? I tried pinching myself but I won't wake up. Do I now have to accept the fact that I'm possibly walking to my death right this very moment? I sighed and rested my head on my hands. My parents, Rowin and Zenith, and Moxie had already visited me. Suddenly Willabella burst into the room and launched herself into my arms.
"Augh!" I said as she crashed into me. "Bella! You're crushing me!"
She just hugged harder. "Dri, no! You can't go! What will I do without you!"
I patted her back. "It's okay… Bella…can you please get…off…me?" She bolted back and wiped some tears from her eyes. I could immediately tell she had been crying before she came in here by her puffy red eyes.
"No it's not!" She exclaimed. "I mean, I'm very grateful to you for saving my life, but I still would have rather gone in there than you! Please don't go sis!"
I blinked several times to keep tears from spilling over my lids. "yeah, but…but…I need you to look over the boys and Moxie for me until I get back. You got that?"
Willabella sniffed. "Okay. But you have to pinky swear you'll get back."
I sighed. "Alright." I stood up from my chair and shook pinkies with her. "I promise."
It was now Bella's time to roll her eyes. "No. A normal promise wont do. You have to pinkie swear."
I smiled. "I swear. You now, you're starting to be like your old self again." That sent Willabella into another fit of tears.
"Please come back!" She cried and strangled me back into a hug. I hugged her back and tried to pry her off me. When I got her off me again, she looked at me funny. "Do you want to take your fish pendant with you? Remind you of the ocean?" I gave a very quick, reluctant nod. "Yes." Bella dug around in her fish scale bag and pulled out a small wooden fish charm strung onto a piece of skinny, fraying rope. The fish still had a few flecks of falling-off green-ish brown paint. "Here. Use it as a District token." Bella gave me one last kiss on my forehead before exiting the room.
Ta-doo! Here is the long awaited chappie. Thanks again to my wonderful readers who have supported me through out the length of this story so far. I love you all! Oh! I have two announcements!
One, we finally have our full tribute list! I filled in the last two spots with bloodbaths, so we have a full tribute list, along with 4-5 bloodbaths.
Oh! And my other announcement! I might be going to guest star on Kids React! I've only entered, but there's still a chance! Cross your fingers guys! DO IT!
Remember, read, rate, review, and keep on roasting.
~EnnixiaMaeLin