Five years, three months before the 128th annual reaping
-Cadmus Brekken, District 9-
Here is what Cadmus Brekken saw:
The house was absolutely bustling. There was never a quiet moment with five kids, that was for sure. And being the oldest of them all was like being a third parent, even at the young age of twelve.
It was a normal day in the Brekken household: Cadmus was in charge of making sure everyone was ready for school and daycare. Little rascals were everywhere, all of them bustling around each other for the one bathroom they all shared and trying to get their school clothes on.
"I gotta goooo!" cried Amadeus, tugging on the bottom of Cadmus's shirt before he even had the chance to put it over his head.
"Alright, just one more minute bud," Cadmus said, putting his arms through the sleeves as he pushed through the hallway with the four-year-old on his hip.
"We need in!" he called, knocking on the bathroom door.
"Can't it wait!? I'm doing my hair!" cried Calantha. The second-oldest knew better than to test it, though, especially when she heard the youngest child crying through the door. She opened it and let her brothers in. Cadmus helped lift Amadeus onto the pot, and took full advantage of the time in there. He got Amadeus cared for and his hands washed before sending him out of the bathroom and taking a moment to do his own business and brush his teeth.
"It's all yours," he told Calantha as he left, and Amadeus ran forward to collect his favorite toy to take to daycare with him.
Cadmus poked his head back into his room to make sure that Mel was up and moving. The eight-year-old dragged his feet, but still got changed and ready to go when Cadmus ushered him along. While he put on his clothes, Mel told him about all of his buddies at school, and all of the adventures they went on together during recess.
"We're going out into the trees today!" Mel told him. Cadmus smiled a little bit at that. He too liked to venture behind the trees during recess, even though it technically wasn't allowed.
"Just be careful and make sure to watch for ticks," Cadmus told him. "And don't get caught! Mom and Dad are out at work, and nobody will be there to pick you up from the principal's office."
"We won't!" chirped Mel. Cadmus would have been much more worried if he wasn't sure that they would get distracted by a game of kickball in the schoolyard. Mel always wished he could have a ball for them all to play together as a family, but they were struggling just to make ends meet with so many mouths to feed. Hopefully Mom would be smarter about protection now so that there wouldn't be a sixth.
"Alright bud, I should go make sure Pom's up." He ruffled Mel's hair, who protested as he wanted to look cool in front of his pals. Cadmus closed the door and then sighed quietly, shaking his head. His brother was so trusting of everyone he met. He was happy now, sure. But Cadmus just couldn't help worrying that one of his so-called buddies was going to use Mel's good nature against him. You could never be too careful, especially in the part of the neighborhood they all lived in.
Thankfully, he didn't have to worry about Pomona. She was like him: preferring to spend recess alone reading. She was a good student: very unlike Cadmus: but she was reserved, and didn't trust too easily. She knew to protect her heart, and Cadmus was proud of her for that. Just like her big bro.
"Let's go kids!" Cadmus shouted into the house. How he wished that they could be like other families: that had breakfast waiting, parents present. He would have killed for just five minutes every morning spent around the table with his family, eating something small and talking about…. About who knew what? He didn't know what normal families talked about. He had never been part of a normal family.
Maybe someday he would be. That was the only thing that kept him moving forward.
Pomona and Mel showed up right away, ever obedient. The expectant and hopeful looks on their faces broke Cadmus's heart. "Sorry, we can't really muster up a lunch today."
Both of them deflated, sinking down into their shoes as Pom instinctively held her stomach.
"Sometimes, my pals share with me," Mel said, trying to see the bright side.
Pom shook her head at him, obviously not understanding him either, even at the young age of six.
"I'm coming!" called Calantha, who was holding Amadeus's hand as she practically dragged him along.
Cadmus smiled sadly at his oldest sister. "Thanks, Calantha," he said quietly as he fixed Amadeus's shirt so it wasn't tucked into his pants in the back. "Alright, Brekkens, out the door now." The others all gave a last wistful look towards the kitchen, hoping that tomorrow their parents would bring back food that they could bring to school for lunch.
Cadmus was the last to lead them all out the door, making sure to lock it tightly behind him. He put his key in his pocket, looking around again and then nodding at his sister, holding Amadeus on his hip as they all started towards school. Calantha was now holding Pom and Mel's hands, looking around for a moment, practically waiting for disaster to strike them. The young ones knew that when they went outside, they had to remain close to their big siblings, or else.
It was what they had to do to protect them.
Cadmus hustled to get everyone into the right building. Calantha helped, but Cadmus didn't fully trust her as she was still young too, only ten. He could finally breathe in relief when Amadeus was dropped off at daycare and Cadmus was sliding into his seat in class, knowing that everyone was safely where they needed to be.
That didn't stop him from being anxious about the end of the day, though, where, just as every day, he would have to wrangle them back home.
Here is what he did not see:
Castor Brekken held the gun to his chest. His heart started to pound as his eyes set on his target. It was risky, what he was doing. But he had to do it for his kids. Normally, he would have never accepted this job, but he was offered so much money that he couldn't possibly turn it down. Not when it meant sending his kids to school with lunches, on full stomachs from breakfast, and having some meat to cook for them when they got home from school. This was the difference between life and death for them, and he was going to do whatever it took to keep his children alive.
Working in the fields was much safer, but those assholes didn't give their workers shit. For weeks and weeks of toil, the paycheck was miniscule. Even if Castor worked twenty-three hours a day, the wage would not be enough for him to feed his family of seven comfortably. He couldn't allow himself to wither away in front of his children's eyes working as a slave in the fields. No, he couldn't allow that to happen. He couldn't allow himself and Thalassa to become so exhausted they lost the ability to nurture their kids.
This was dangerous, but the hours were for the most time short. Castor would be home to feed his family dinner, and Thalassa would be right there beside him to ask them how their day went and hear all about it from each child, who they both loved so much.
Thalassa flipped open the small, cracked personal mirror she'd scrounged from a dumpster to check her reflection. She got the bare minimum that she needed to look irresistible, but she couldn't shake the guilt that the money she was paying for make-up should have been going towards her children. But, make-up lasted for a while, especially when she tried to make it last. And it was the only way she could possibly earn her living for them. Without it, nobody would buy her.
Her bounty was in a small satchel on her back. She recently had to purchase a new one, as the old one was so battered and torn it would have given away what was inside for sure. She couldn't let that happen. She had to spend, spend, spend, but it was so that she could make enough to feed her children, and care for her husband when he didn't have a job.
"There," Castor whispered, gesturing over at the uniformed officer that was guarding downtown.
Thalassa gave a wordless nod, sauntering over to the man. She swayed her hips as she approached, adjusting the top that her breasts were practically pouring out of as she greeted him. The man was obviously interested in her. Good. Castor aimed his gun while the man was still being charmed by Thalassa. This was going to be it. She was going to be ready to run with him, just in case. Castor took one last breath, and then he fired.
The gun gave a small click of response.
"Fuck," muttered Castor, as the sound brought the Peacekeeper's attention back to the area and away from Thalassa. He grabbed the woman, looking around the area with great alarm. Thalassa screamed, and Castor hurriedly tried to fix the jammed gun before he felt himself being lifted forcefully by the back of the shirt.
"Jig's up, Asshole," said the uniformed man that was holding him. "Take these two in for questioning. Then, we'll fill the Square."
Thalassa and Castor were dragged away.
Here is what he saw:
A great commotion erupted outside after school. Cadmus had just collected his last school-aged sibling when stampedes of people were hurrying to see what was happening, and Peacekeepers ran through the streets, holding up guns and batons and yelling.
Cadmus looked over at Calantha, who looked back at him with an expression of confusion.
"To the Square! Everybody to the Square!" they shouted.
"Amadeus!" Cadmus said, looking around.
"He'll come with the daycare people," Calantha said, her eyes set with concern. "Let's just go."
Cadmus nodded slightly in agreement with that. They went towards the Square, but as soon as Cadmus saw the familiar staff from the daycare, he broke away from his siblings to go get his youngest brother.
"Emma, come with me," said an older boy that was obviously from a nicer part of the District.
"Jasp! C'mon, I see your parents!" said a girl that was his age, gesturing him over.
"We gotta go," said the boy, hefting the girl up on his hip and hurriedly disappearing into the crowd.
"Thank you, but I'll take him," Cadmus said to the staff, taking Amadeus's hand. "Let's go, Amadeus."
Amadeus didn't know what was going on, but he was still nervous at the shouting and the tense energy of the crowd. Cadmus started searching the crowd for his parents, but he wouldn't have to search very longer as he soon found them. The one place he didn't want to find them.
"For attempted murder of a Peacekeeper and possession of illegal drugs and firearms, Castor and Thalassa Brekken are hereby sentenced to death, effective immediately."
The screams of Cadmus's mother filled his ears as she was shown to the crowd, shoved to her knees on the stage and flogged. Cadmus cried out in horror, reaching over to cover his siblings' eyes. They couldn't see this… Cadmus wished he had more hands so that Calantha didn't have to watch, but she put her eyes on the ground as tears started to pour out of her cheeks. Her mother's screams were cut off with a large bang, which caused their father to begin screaming, not stopping with each flogging, and each sound of whip on flesh brought more tears to Cadmus's eyes and more screams from his siblings' lips.
The bang that ended his life for good finally sounded. The crowd was reeling as they were dismissed, and while seas of people moved around them, Cadmus couldn't force himself to move as his siblings huddled together. Their parents were dead. Now they had nobody.
"What are we going to do?" Calantha whispered through tears into her brother's ear.
Cadmus swallowed a lump in his throat. He knew what he had to do.
He had to step up, drop out, and provide for them.
He had to follow his parents' footsteps.
~.~.
Two years, eight months before the 128th annual reaping
-Wendalia "Wendy" Alvarez, District 1-
"So then I was totally in love at first sight," Peach said, throwing a knife which bounced lamely off the target.
"Uh huh," Wendy said, half focused on getting a good throw and half focused on Peach's dramatic retelling of this story.
"And he kept looking at me, and we kept locking eyes," she sighed dreamily.
"Mhm." Wendy threw her knife and it landed in a dummy's shoulder.
"That wouldn't be enough to stop them from killing you," commented the trainer at the station, shaking her head.
Wendy shrugged. So what if it didn't? She wasn't actually going to go into the Games, why the heck would she do that? Besides, she was the best at archery, not throwing knives. It was the only weapon she knew how to use even a little bit effectively.
As if that really mattered. She wasn't going into the Games, after all. Even if she wanted to, she couldn't. She wasn't strong, she certainly wasn't worthy of being a tribute.
Despite all of that, she allowed the trainer to help her fix her stance and listened to the pointers that she gave. She didn't want to completely fail at training after all. This was where all the people her age were and she wanted to fit in.
"So anyways-" she started, but the bell rang that signified the day was done and they were dismissed.
"Next time," Wendy promised with a wink, racking her knives right away. "Have a good night!"
"Still running off to see Malachite?" asked Peach, shaking her head.
"Yeah…" Wendy said, frowning.
"Tonight, you should make your voice heard."
Wendy frowned a little, totally afraid of doing it, but knowing that Peach was right. Maybe he would understand.
"See you Wendy," said Peach, waving and heading off to get her training bag.
Wendy couldn't wait any longer. Malachite was expecting her to come around, and she couldn't keep him waiting. Just the thought of being late sent her body into an automatic response of panic. Her heart beat faster, she just felt herself shutting down. He would not be happy with her if she was late.
Wendy hurried to the locker room to collect her things. She hoped she didn't smell too bad: most of her sweat from running the agility course had dried while she was practicing shooting her bow. She could take a moment to shower, but her hair was so damn thick that washing it took forever and a day. It would be better just to go straight to Malachite's house.
Wendy pushed past the crowds of people, hanging her head as she went. She didn't particularly stand out to most, but to that small crowd…
"There she is!" came a too familiar voice.
"I have to go," said Wendy, but she was quickly thrown to the floor by the group of girls.
"Just drop out already," said one of them. "You don't have what it takes anyways, so why waste your energy trying? You should be training for your inevitable position as Academy Janitor."
The others in the group laughed as Wendy stayed on the ground for a moment, her eyes filling with tears. She wasn't that poor, but compared to the people that surrounded her, she certainly seemed that way.
"You're such an easy target because you don't fucking fight," said another girl. "And that's what being a tribute is all about. You'll be kicked out next week."
Wendy wanted to tell them they were wrong about that, but the words died on her tongue. She couldn't release them… That would be rude. There was a switch that was turned off that didn't allow her to sink down to their level. And that was good. She didn't care to do that. She would just take it so that they would leave her and she could hurry over to Malachite's house. She was so glad to have a boyfriend of three years that she could count on. Well… Could she?
"Weak Wendy! Weak Wendy!" said one of the girls tauntingly, pulling her hair and slamming her face on the ground. When they realized her head was bleeding, the girls stepped back and hurried away from her: no doubt to avoid being caught more than out of any sort of guilt.
"Weak Wendy, that's totally genius," said the girls as they walked away. "You're definitely going to volunteer in three years."
Wendy waited until she couldn't hear their voices anymore before standing up, careful not to slip on her own blood as she pressed a hand to her head. She could go to the first aid station, but she didn't want to make anymore of a scene, so she hurried to Malachite's house.
As she walked, blood trickled down the side of her face, mixing on her cheeks with tears that were rolling out of her eyes. It wasn't the pain, she had faced worse from them before. It was just the fear that they were right, and she was going to get kicked out of the Academy. What would she do then? Well, she was going to have to decide, since she would never be a tribute. And Malachite didn't have a plan either. Then again, they were young. She was fifteen and he was sixteen, so they didn't have to know right away, right?
Wendy knocked on Malachite's door as a small sob fell out of her lips. She felt like she was waiting forever there, sniffling as tears rolled out of her eyes.
"Please," she whispered. Please open the door.
Malachite slowly pulled the door open. "There you are. You like to keep me waiting, don't you?"
"Sorry," Wendy said quietly, immediately feeling so small. Why wouldn't she feel small around him? She… She loved him. "There was just… I got held back…"
It was as if he didn't even notice that she was bleeding. Not until she stepped inside and he hissed, "Don't get blood all over my mom's carpet, she'll kill me."
Wendy didn't know what to do except for nod obediently and go towards the guest bathroom, stumbling a little bit on the way there and reaching out to lean on him… But he wasn't there.
"We're going out tonight," he said, as Wendy carefully walked into the bathroom, blood dripping onto the tile. "I need more cigarettes, and I found something for us to nab."
Wendy's entire body tensed at those words. She wasn't a thief… But, she was. Now she was. What would her mother say if she knew what Wendy had done?
She didn't answer him, dabbing at the bleeding spot on her head. It was much smaller than it had appeared when there was blood everywhere, and she was able to disinfect it and find a small bandage that would fit on it.
"Wendy!" he called again, his voice sounding impatient. The sudden exclamation pushed a breath out of Wendy as she felt her arms tense from where she was caring for her wound.
"Just a minute," Wendy said quietly. She took a paper towel and cleaned the blood off of her face.
"Get the floor while you're in there!" Malachite told her, and Wendy obediently did as he said. Otherwise, he would be mad. And Wendy hated making him mad… She loved him, and she didn't want to make him unhappy.
It just seemed that she could never make him happy. Nothing she did was ever enough…
No, she scolded herself. That's no way to think. I should want to try harder if it means making him happy. That's what love is, and I love him.
"Are you finally ready to go?" he asked, while Wendy was still on the ground.
"I just got back from the Academy, give just a moment, please." Saying those words made her face flush immediately from shame. He was so fragile, she didn't want to make things worse by disagreeing with him. "I'm so sorry," she added quickly. "I'll be ready soon."
"Yeah, right," he grunted. Wendy took a deep breath once all of the spots were cleaned from the floor. It was so white and shiny it hurt her eyes and made her vision swim for a moment. She still felt so tender, especially in the head. She didn't know how she was possibly going to be able to carry out another heist.
Slowly, Wendy got to her feet. The world started spinning again and she quickly sat on the toilet lid for a moment, taking a few deep breaths.
"Please tell me you didn't forget your wallet," Malachite said, walking over to stand in the doorway.
"What?" It took her a moment to figure out what he was saying when everything came back into focus. "No, I didn't," she said quietly. "But Malachite, smoking isn't a good habit. It's expensive, and I can't buy them for you forever…"
He looked over at her, a frown spreading across his face. "Smoking is the only thing that makes me happy. That's what you want, isn't it? If not, we should just break up."
Wendy sniffled quietly at the thought of losing him. Then who would she have? She would be left with nothing.
"I understand," she said quietly. There was no way she was going to get out of buying him a packet.
"Let's go," he said. "The shop closes at six and it's already five thirty."
"I just need one minute," Wendy said. She hated to be the reason he was slowed down, the reason that he might not get what he wanted. She hated to be a burden to him, and that was how she felt all the time. She just didn't know what she should do to stop being a burden to him…
"Stop being a baby, Wendy, it's a small thing and it's no big deal. Shopkeepers won't even miss it. Now, we don't have one minute. You should have gotten here on time if you wanted a minute."
"Can't you seem I'm hurt?!" cried Wendy. He shot her a fiery glare, and Wendy quickly let out a yelp as her face flushed again. All such familiar feelings. She hated feeling this way.
"Let's go," he said, pulling her up off the toilet harshly by her arm.
"Don't touch me!" Wendy snapped, slapping his arm away from her.
That was the moment she realized that this was wrong.
"I don't want to go out," Wendy said.
"If you don't, then I'm taking your wallet and getting them for myself. Where is it?"
Wendy grabbed his arm and pulled him away from her training bag. "I don't want to buy those for you."
"You don't want me to be happy?!"
"Not like this!" Wendy said, staring at him for a moment.
"Then why do I even keep you around?"
Wendy stared at him as her breaths became more ragged. This wasn't fair. She was fed up with feeling this way around him. And now, he was showing his true colors. He was just using her from the very start, and it had taken her three years to realize this… She felt like such a damn idiot.
"Is this all I am to you?! A walking, talking wallet?"
"Why don't you want me to be happy, I'm your boyfriend of three years!"
"Why don't you want me to be happy!?" Wendy shouted at him. "Answer me that!"
"You are happy with me! You could never find someone better."
"As if!" Wendy couldn't control herself, staring into his face that was obviously just trying to figure out how to win her over. She wasn't going to take it anymore, she'd had enough of this. Malachite tried to grab her again, but Wendy launched into action before he could do it. Her fist made contact with his nose and he cried out as his face started to bleed everywhere.
"You little bitch!" he shouted at her.
"Don't call me a bitch!" Wendy landed a powerful kick to his leg, sending him crashing down to the ground and crying out.
"I'm going to tell everyone what you did to me!" he cried out, but he was still wailing about his nose.
"If you do that, I'll go to the Peacekeepers and let them know about every single thing you've stolen," she said, staring him in the face. That made his face go pale as Wendy hurried past him and picked up her training bag. "We're done!" she called, as she ran out the door and slammed it behind her.
Wendy was filled with fire as she walked down the empty streets. She couldn't go back home, not after what she'd done. She needed to get out that frustration somehow. Wendy ended up at the training center before she realized where she was going. The room was basically empty. Maybe one time, Wendy would have walked away, not wanting to stand out too much, not interested in the Games.
But not anymore. She was not going to be that weak girl that got stepped on by everyone a single second longer. Wendy was taking control of her life, from here on out. She was going to show them all that she was a storm, a fire, a force to be reckoned with, a superhero.
The archery station was empty, but she didn't want to work on range right now. No, Wendy knew what she had to do. The first step towards her new future.
She marched over to swords station, picking up a weapon there and setting her sights on a fellow trainee that was there. Well, not exactly just a trainee anymore.
She held up her sword, knowing that she was going to lose but wanting to learn how to use this weapon from the best.
"Trap Principato!" she called over to him, causing him to look up as she held up the unfamiliar weapon as confidence rushed through her.
"Let's spar."
~.~.
A/N: Wow, I cranked this out in one day! I wanted to get it posted before I start work officially on Monday! (Which means, slowly updates will begin to slow…)
Well, big thanks to House Elf Liberation Front and musicaltheatrecake for Cadmus and Wendy respectively! Had a bunch of fun with the first chapter of intros being the first two forms I received. (In case you aren't aware, intros are going in chronological order from least to most recent before the reaping.)
So, with these intros will also be tribute drawings posted on the blog! They'll be up before the next chapter for sure as I'm holding myself accountable for it. The SoL blog is listed last chapter and is on my profile.
Also, since there are new people here, obligatory plug for my SYOT forum on fanfiction! Link is on my blog, all are welcome and we love to see new people so check that out!
Additionally, I have a discord server that is specifically for this verse on which we talk about stories and general stuff and have some chaos, if you're interested in joining send me a PM and I'll invite you! This is for submitters AND just readers.
Lastly, an open SYOT that is definitely worth checking out is Goldie031's new story Only Time Will Tell! It's a rewrite, but in a very nuanced verse with a really unique Quell twist, so feel free to go by and send her some characters!
CQ: Thoughts on these characters? Which stuck out more and why?
See you eventually for the next chapter of intros!
