District 2 Reaping

Aurelia Kinsby (16) D2F:

Aurelia spent her morning the same ways she spends most mornings; looking out the window. However unlike most mornings in District 2 today the streets were barren of people. Not a soul walked past her window today. Today was reaping day so it made sense but still she looked out the window. She likes to look out of windows. Well it's not the windows it's the people. She likes to watch people. The workers on their way to their jobs, the mothers with their children, the shopkeeper opening for the day; she wonders what their life is like, or what they're thinking about. That's how she judges if people are worth her time. From behind her a whisper hit her ear.

"Y'know you're gonna go blind from all that staring." Kyda whispered into her ear. She then kissed Aurelia's cheek. "C'mon get dressed, we've got a reaping to get to!" Kyda was rather excited today. Being in District 2 it was expected that someone volunteers to be the tribute. Well Kyda plans on that to be her this year. Aurelia is against it. She is petrified. Kyda is the only person left that actually cares about her, if she were to die Aurelia would have no one. Her family practically disowned her when they found out that she was dating Kyda. All she had left was her love, nothing else. When she watched Kyda she noticed something. Kyda knew that she was watching. She never acknowledged it, and she would never admit it now, but she knew. It enticed Aurelia, it got her curious. So one day she approached Kyda and they hit it off. She was one of the few people Aurelia ever took a chance getting to know. In her mind, it was the best decision she ever made.

Thats why Aurelia was scared. If Kyda were to go into the games and not come back, she would lose her everything.

They made their way to the reaping. Split into their sections; Aurelia the 16 year olds, Kyda the 18 year olds. The escort arrived and pulled the name. Aurelia was watching Kyda, like always. She saw the excitement on her face, the anticipation, but all she could feel was fear.

"I volunteer!" A voice rang out. Except it wasn't Kyda's voice. It was Aurelia's. Aurelia never took her eyes off of Kyda. Kyda looked at her. It was a mix between confusion and anger. Aurelia only broke her gaze when she realized that she had to go up on the stage. She walked up and then saw the boy volunteer join her on stage. Then it hit her. It hit her that she just volunteered herself for the hunger games. Looking at this large strong boy made it clear in her brain that she might just die.

On the way to her room in the Justice Building she contemplated her decision. She obviously didn't think it through. If she had she never would have done what she did.

"What the hell was that?" Kyda asked from the other side of the room. Aurelia hadn't realized that she arrived.

"Um, I don't know."

"Bullshit! Why did you do that. You know how much this means to me."

"I didn't want to lose you." Kyda's face softened. She sighed.

"You weren't going to lose me. I was going to win, we were going to live together in victors village. That was the plan, that was always the plan."

"You don't honestly believe you would have won. There are 23 people trying to kill you, one of them is that giant kid that was standing next to me."

"I've trained my whole life for this and you took it away from me. Do you think you have a better chance or something?"

"No. I just wanted you to be safe." A long pause follows. Kyda breaks the silence

"I don't know what else to say."

"Just say that you don't hate me." Aurelia responds.

"I could never hate you. Now im just afraid of losing you."

"Well now you know how I've felt since the moment you told me you were going to volunteer." The peacekeepers arrive to take her away.

"I love you." Kyda says.

"I love you too." They kiss. One kiss that could be their last. They made it count.

Lyndon Ryder (14) D2M:

Lyndon checked his pocket watch at least half a dozen times the morning of the reaping. Even though it was his third he 's still nervous about it. It isn't easy for someone to get used to the possibility of a death sentence being thrust upon him once a year. Even so he still checks the pocket watch. It was almost 7 am. At 7 am every year since he has been eligible to be reaped his grandmother comes in and serves him breakfast in bed. It is her way of comforting him, or saying goodbye, he wasn't sure which.

The pocket watch had belonged to his father, but he and Lyndon's mother died when Lyndon was a kid. The pocket watch was black and had his father initials carved into it. It was a cheap thing but he treasured it.

Lyndon was a tall boy, about 6 foot. He was a bit fortunate because he has black hair and blue eyes. A rare yet handsome combination. His body is something he was very proud of. He isn't a career by any means, but all the other boys wanted to be. So when he was young and all his friends started training for the games he did the same. So suffice to say he was muscular, very muscular.

He checks his pocket watch again. Just a few more minutes. The one negative of his grandmother's ritual is that he can never sleep the night before the reaping. So instead of getting up and pacing like he wants to he keeps still. He wouldn't want his grandmother to think that he was worried. That would worry her and he doesn't want that. Lyndon closes his eyes as he hears the door creak open.

"Good morning!" His grandmother's cheerful voice rang in the room as loud as any alarm could be.

"Morning." Lyndon replied in his best fake yawn. She seemed to buy it, but she wasn't looking for any reason to doubt him. She walked in with a tray filled to the brim with breakfast foods. Just like every year he began to eat, even though his appetite was nonexistent from the nerves.

"So how'd you sleep?" His grandmother asked.

"Fine." He replied. He didn't want to worry her. Without much more conversation she left the room. She had three more people to serve. Well two people and a dog.

Lyndon has two siblings, a brother and a sister. His sister is Lyna. Shes 19. She was planning on moving out, but since their grandfather died last year, she figured that she should stay a little longer. She was the caretaker of the family. She was 9 when their parents died and they had to move in with their grandparents so she's always been a lot more mature.

Then there is his brother Kurt. He's 15, looks a lot like Lyndon, the only exception is that Lyndon spent his teen years training so he was much more fit than Kurt. Either way people always mistook them for twins. They're only a year apart so they basically grew up as twins. They're very close. They even shared a room until their grandfather died and their grandmother couldn't stay in the room anymore. They changed houses and got one with an extra bedroom.

Lyndon eventually got out of bed and headed to the bathroom to shower and get dressed for the reaping. Afterward he and the rest of the family just spent the day together like they always do. Sometimes he even forgot about the reaping later that day, but of course the time for the reaping arrived. They made their way down to the justice building as a family. They only separated when they reached the point where they had to.

"I'll be right here when it's over." Lyndon's grandmother said.

"GOOD LUCK!" Lyna shouted. "And may the odds be ever in your favor." she mocked in a capital accent. The two boys made their way to their age separated areas. The escort pulled the girl name first and as usual in District 2 someone volunteered.

"Now for the lucky boy." The flamboyant man on stage announced. "Kurt Ryder!" Kurt was in the 15-year-old section. Kurt began his walk up to the stage expecting a volunteer to arise but after about half a minute of silence it dawned on him that there was none. Kurt got about halfway up to the stage before his brother volunteered.

Lyndon walked up to the stage, but he changed his entire demeanor. He knew the other districts would be watching and he knew that if he acted correctly he could be seen as a threat. He had the body for it now all he needed was the attitude. He walked with a confidence that he didn't have. When he reached the stage he answered the escorts few questions with a yes or no and nothing else. He was acting like the perfect career. He even sensed the girl next to him being frightened. He wouldn't normally like to cause someone such distress but this was necessary.

He was quickly rushed into the Justice Building where his siblings and grandmother soon met him. They shared hugs and goodbyes. His grandmother was trying to be strong but it was clear she would soon be a mess. He told her not to cry. He hated seeing her cry.

"I'm sure you'll do fine." Kurt said. "You've been training since you were little. I know you never thought you'd have to use it but I don't see how you could lose. Plus the way you walked on the stage; I wouldn't be able to tell it was you if we didn't look so alike." He could feel the sincerity in his brother's voice, and he appreciated it.

The peacekeeper's came to take them away. Just before they left his grandmother rushed up to him.

"Take this as your token. I know how much it means to you, maybe it will give you luck." With that she left. As he looked down he saw his father's pocket watch clutched in his hand.

A/N:

There are still 5 spots remaining in the games. At the end of the reaping there will be two polls on my profile. It will be a poll where you can choose multiple tributes considering the large cast of characters it would be hard to choose just one. Good luck and may the odds be ever in your favor. One for you to pick tributes that you favor and one for the tributes you dislike. I will then take the positive votes and subtract the negative point to give the tributes an overall score that will be seen by me and me alone. I urge everyone to vote for their favorite. I ask those who contributed tributes to be fair and not down vote all other tributes. The amount of votes each tribute receives will allow me insight into who most people want to see survive as well as who is more eligible for the bloodbath. It will not be the only method I use to decide who lives on but it will aid me in my choices. So during the reaping chapters make a mental note of those you like and those you dislike. Good luck and may the odds be ever in your favor.