Death

It was unlikely that you would survive into old age in District 12. The starvation would probably reach you before you could even consider retirement plans. And; if by some miracle, you survived to see your hair turn grey, or fall out, don't kid yourself that you're set from then on. If you could manage to scrape by on the pension that was given to you, by all means, stop working, but it's more likely that you would have to continue toiling away in the mines. Some people thought it better to die young, if only to avoid the struggle.

Ice

The cold wind rattles through the hollow house, the winter is setting in. You don't kid yourself that you'll all survive through to the spring. There are seven mouths to feed and only one breadwinner. The children are already crying with hunger and you know as the winter arrives, the temperature will drop and the disease and sickness that comes every year will target your family just as they did last year, and the year before. You know people refer to you as the 'ice cold woman', but you know that you're not cruel and cold hearted, just a realist.

Strength

Being in District 12 required strength. Loading the trams in the coal mines needed strength, so did carrying heavy baskets. But surviving in District 12 required strength of mind. Anyone could throw around sacks of coal, but only the strong minded could keep their head when everything around them is going mad. A strong minded person needn't be optimistic or pessimistic, just level headed enough not to go insane with responsibility or too cowardly to take a chance. Katniss was strong minded, she was focussed on her task, keeping herself and her family alive; she didn't care about anything else.

Taboo

Mother never speaks of the Games. I'm not old enough for the reaping yet, but I can feel the anxiety rolling off her in waves when that time of the year comes around again, she's worried for all the children. I don't know how she's going to cope when I get entered into the reaping ball. I'm going to have to sign up for terrasae, we're just an average Seam family, more mouths than we can afford. I feel sorry for my mother; she can't help but get involved, it's just the way she is. I hope I'm not chosen.

Ritual

I sit in the firelight and watch the flames slowly toast my bread. My right hand tightens around the wooden stick that the bread has been stuck on. My left hand sits comfortably in my husband's, I squeeze it gently. We were just 18, my father had said that I was too young, but we had lived through two years of worry, this marriage was a sort of celebration for surviving the games. We couldn't afford much, but my mother had gone out early this morning to buy special bakery bread for the toasting. It's not much, but it's mine.

Interested

The games always sparked some curiosity in District 12. The people who took some sick delight in watching the poor children die were snubbed by the others. People mainly tried to console the family who had lost a child, or just got on with their lives and ignored the problem. But behind closed doors, people were sucked to their television sets; the Capitol knew how to keep their audience interested. The catch up shows were set up so that the action was cut off at the vital point, making sure that the viewer was going to tune in next time.

Coal

In District 12, you grew up to mine coal. No one questioned it, you just did. On the morning of your eighteenth birthday you would trudge along with everyone else heading towards the mines. You would sign your name in the book and get together with a team of people to work with. When your face was smeared with dust and grime and the sun had gone down in the sky, you would leave. You were paid daily, the amount depending on how much coal you and your team had mined. It was hard, but someone had to do it.

Timid

I had always been a timid child, I jumped at every little thing, and a spider could send me screaming away. The Seam kids at school had laughed at me, they told me to toughen up, they called me a soft little girly girl. My mother had told me that they were just jealous of my golden curls and secure lifestyle, and I believed her. Here I was now, my silky hair all tangled and dirty, the sundress I had been given to wear was a tattered rag and my sandals were long gone. Some courage would help right now.

Timeless

Some people had timeless beauty, District 12 did not. I had seen them on the television; the shots from above were of dirty houses, partly hidden by the thick fog that was being emitted from the mines. The people living in District 12 were no better; they all had murky brown hair, or dirty blonde. Was nothing clean in that place? There were dull greys and blues, no variation, just endless repeats of the same people, over and over again. In the Capitol, no one grew too old, no one grew too fat or too thin, we were all perfect.

Wealth

Health before wealth was a common saying in District 12. Save up your money for medicines, you can't save someone with expensive clothes. The Capitol had more than enough money to spare, but did they ever give to charity? You had more chance of being eaten by an elephant in the night than getting money from the Capitol. God help you if you dropped your money in the market. People would be on you like a shot, tearing the money from the stone pavement as you scrabble desperately, trying to get back as much of the money as you could.

Ending

It was all ending. Everything was burning; flames were falling from the sky. I ran screaming down the road. The hovercrafts buzzed angrily over head, they continued to shoot out the fireballs, aiming them at the mines, and the houses, everything was flammable. Fire was our weakness; the Capitol was burning our homes, our lives. Everyone was running and screaming around me. Some people had tried to escape underneath the fence, only to be electrocuted; their relatives were left to watch in horror as their eyeballs melted in their skulls. Everything was ending, who was there to save us?

Loss

You grieved the loss of a loved one; you spend days mourning, and the rest of your life remembering them. In District 12, you could take time off work, but you wouldn't get paid. You couldn't wallow in your sorrows; you were expected to deal with it, to move on. Everyone around you had lost someone as well, be it from the games or some other unfortunate incident, you just got used to it. People who couldn't cope with losing family members were left struggling in the mud, no one was going to help you; they had their own problems.

Velvet

The black velvet under my fingers tells me I must be dreaming. No one has velvet in District 12, only the mayor. The smooth material ripples as I stroke my hands lovingly across it. I follow the folds and creases with my fingertips, it's some sort of a dress, sleeveless and wonderful; I had never thought I would wear something so beautiful in my life! It was the new 'thing' in the Capitol, big puffball dresses, but their versions hadn't been made from velvet, or speckled with red and orange jewels. And here we have the tributes from District 12!

Evening

I crawled under the fence and grabbed my bow and arrow before heading off to where Katniss and I had planned to meet. The evening sun filtered through the trees, making long shadows behind me. A crunch sent me spinning around, arrow aimed and ready. It was Katniss, "You made me jump!" I laughed, relaxing my grip on my bow.

"'I'll think of it as an achievement. Come on, the rabbits won't wait forever" Katniss silently stepped forward, then turned to me again, "Are you coming?" the sun streamed behind her, golden rays shone past her hair, she was beautiful.

A/N: I hope you liked them, please review. If you have any ideas for words you would like me to use, feel free to tell me :D