"Hey, little Aury."
I turn my head and grin ear to ear as I see my older brother Heron saunter into the room, holding his new son, whom he has appropriately named Flavian, for his seemingly pure yellow hair. He hugs me with one arm as best he can and hands me baby Flavian.
"How have you been?" Heron asks, brushing his arms free of the cotton left behind from his baby's gray blanket.
"I've been fine," I say honestly, hugging Flavian tighter. "What about you? How are you and Kendra doing?"
"Ugh," he groans, rubbing his face with his hands. "I'm not going to lie, it's been rough with her. She keeps saying how she wishes we could live here in the Victor's Village with you. And I've been having more and more trouble not losing my temper with that irritating old fat guy that I have to work for."
"Well, you know, you and Kendra are always welcome to move in here," I tell him. "It gets pretty lonely here, believe it or not." I hand Flavian back to him and lean back against the window overlooking District 4.
"Really?" Heron asks, tickling Flavian's stomach. "Doesn't Finnick come by to visit?"
"Yeah," I shrug. "But having Finnick visit isn't the same as having family visit."
"Eh, true," he says.
I turn around and look out the window. I'm five stories up, so of course, I can see almost everything in District 4. I can't help but suppress a laugh as I watch a boy with rust colored hair follow a little blonde girl as she walks down the path. And then, I see Kendra, with her brown hair in a neat bun, strolling down towards the Victor's Village.
"Uh oh," I sigh.
"What?" Heron asks.
"Uh, I think Kendra is coming."
I hear Heron let out a long sigh- maybe it was a groan- as he steps up next to me to peer out the window. "Well, I was about to go anyway," he says. I hug him goodbye. "I'll see you later, okay?"
"Yep," I say with a smile.
He walks toward the door and stops in the doorway. "Oh," he says. "And Happy Hunger Games."
I grin half-heartedly. "And may the odds be ever in your favor," I reply in the ridiculous Capitol accent, curtseying like I've watched Bella Blume do so many times.
Heron grins at me one last time and leaves, cooing to Flavian who is making a bunch of unintelligible baby noises. As soon as he leaves, I slam my head against the metal windowsill. Reaping day. I hate it. But at least I don't have to stand in the crowd and hold my breath like I used to. Now, I sit on the platform with Finnick and the rest of the victors. In a way, the thought brings comfort to me. But in the same way, it kills me to have to watch another boy and girl be reaped and thrown to their death.
I walk down the long white corridor to my room. I open the door and quickly slip on my reserved Reaping Day outfit; a silky dress that hangs below my knees. It's blue. Pale blue, which is basically my signature color by now. I wash my face, pull my hair up into a high ponytail, and begin the short journey to the district circle.