Meridian Birdie, 18
Interview Day
18:15 hours
The only person that Meridian had ever trusted in his life, besides his father, was Day Amatore; there was nothing that she couldn't be trusted with. If she was a known crook, they would have trusted her with a bag of cash. She trusted him with their deepest secrets too.
(Truthfully, it was the first time Meridian had felt true happiness.)
It didn't take long for all that to come crashing down. Dawning Avenue was destroyed, and Meridian's father never let them trust anyone ever again. "Trust is nothing more than a pretence. Whatever bond was formed between you and that girl from Dawning Avenue wasn't real. She would have deceived you first," Prime told him once, whilst straightening his tie.
In the justice building, his father had ordered him not to trust a single soul in the arena, and to only ally with Day if he thought he could manipulate them again. But then came the girl from Three, throwing a spanner in the works of Meridian's mind. At first, he thought she was another Day - someone else to deceive before she deceived him - just as his father had said. But if Meilin is deceiving him, then she is the best con artist in the world. The way she's brought the entire alliance together and plans to bring everyone else together… Meridian has never seen anything like it. Regardless of whether it works or not, this alliance has made Meridian feel comfort that they haven't felt since they lived in Dawning Avenue with Day's family…
(Maybe Meilin is like Day was before the destruction of Dawning Avenue, and maybe there's nothing wrong with that.
Maybe there are many more Days and Meilins out there. Maybe their father was wrong.)
Meridian straightens up his tie tightly around his neck, just as if his father were here to do it, after his tutor had dressed him for one of their conventions. He tightens so tight that he almost turns red, so they loosen it a touch.
Meanwhile, Day is just finishing up her interview; they didn't mention Meridian, except when she spoke about who her allies are. They didn't even mention Fly High or Prime or what he did to Dawning Avenue. She did her job in convincing the world that they are a stable alliance - now Meridian has to do the same.
"Next, please welcome Day's district partner and ally - Meridian Birdie from District Five!"
Meridian gulps, and a tingle runs through his heart. Their father is watching, and they know what he expects from them - he expects them to be like him at one of Fly High's conventions. He's seen his father speak enough times at these conventions, even if he was just standing silently beside him like a background ornament. He knows what to do.
Meridian walks onto the stage with his hands gripped on his bright blue blazer, and his head slightly bowed. He shakes hands, and exchanges pleasantries with the Host - he reminds Meridian of some of the Capitolites that they used to meet at their fathers' conventions, with his perfect white teeth, his eyebrows that makes him look like an owl, and his condescending expression.
Meridian sits firmly upright on the seat, resting his hands in their lap and remaining static, like a statue. "Good evening, sir," he greets.
"Good… evening… you seem an awfully polite and civilized young person," The Host laughs.
Meridian nods. "My father always said, "someone without manners isn't worth a dime.""
"He sounds like a wise man."
"He is. He-" Meridian is about to voice their admiration for their father and then mention everything he's done for them, but for reasons he can't fully explain, his mind goes blank.
He blinks, awkwardly snapping himself back into the room. "Yeah…"
"Anyway, your father sounds like a wonderful role model, but we also want to know more about Meridian," the Capitolite says. "What do you enjoy doing in your free time?"
Meridian's crystal blue eyes travel upwards as they ponder the question. What did he tell me to say? But the boy's mind is tangled in a mess, like a ball of string; he rehearsed what his father told him countless times during his life, so why is it all suddenly seeming meaningless to him? "F-furthering the company's position. Working hard. Building new clients," he finally remembers, although they're not sure if that's what the Host asked, exactly.
"Interesting..." the Host raises his eyebrow. "You're a very dedicated individual, aren't you?"
"Without dedication and hard work, there's no success," Meridian utters his father's words, feeling glad that they remembered them faster this time.
After this, the Host switches to asking about Meridian's allies - an angle they weren't exactly prepared for.
"Now, I understand from your district partner Day, that you two are allied, and you're also allied with two other tributes, is that correct?"
Meridian suddenly feels like a deer caught in headlights; his allies make him feel something… It's a feeling of familiarity and comfort that he's not felt since he lived in Dawning Avenue. His father never taught him how to talk about his feelings.
"Urm… yes."
The Host playfully glances left to right. "Can… you tell me who they are?"
"There's urm…" Meridian stares at their hands and begins twiddling them. "There's Liz, the painter - apparently she's really good at it," he smiles. "Then there's Meilin, who you already spoke with she's… she's really smart." His words may as well be a different language to him, he's not used to talking about anyone else in a positive light.
"And how do you think they'll benefit you in the arena? How does your alliance compare to the others?"
Meridian shrugs. "I don't know I-" He tries to find his father's answer to that question. But he finds that their father's words are suddenly clouded, and only Meilin's seem to make sense at this moment. They remember something she told him before she went to have her private session, and he repeats her words aloud as he recalls them in his head. "I-it doesn't matter what our weaknesses are because we're stronger together…that's all that matters."
"That's a nice sentiment, indeed," the Host replies coldly.
Meridian glances around, stunned at the words that just left their mouth. They know their father is watching, they know he wouldn't approve of those words but as much as it pains them to think it - they don't care. Meilin will be delighted - he can already picture her eyes lighting up. Liz will be pleased. At a stretch, maybe even Day will be happy.
As the interview wraps up, Meridian discovers he doesn't need his father to answer the Host's last questions.
(Maybe they never needed him.)
He answers the last few questions more like Meilin; her answers just made more sense to him… they make him feel more like Meridian, whoever Meridian might be.
The gong rings, and Meridian leaves the stage with his head held high for the first time in a long time.
Chaney de Kuyper, 17
Orange stage lights glare off Chaney's eyes from the ceiling. He blinks, and glances at the TV screen to his left. On it, Briar is finishing up her interview - her hair is tied back and glittering like a pearl, so is her dress, and Chaney wishes he was up there with her; they could tag-team these interviews as partners, just how they tackle everything else in life. This… 'act' that their mentor is making them do is killing Chaney - which is sort of ironic, given the situation, he supposes. But still, Chaney only knows one thing - that they are meant to be together.
Briar is currently speaking about how her brother passed away from disease a year before she was born. Usually, Chaney has found that getting a cat to bark would be easier than getting Briar to open up about her past.
(Although, Chaney guesses that Briar mentioning her brother might just be another of Lance's tactics.)
(Chaney is not enjoying Lance's tactics much.)
The Host's prying skills are good. Too good. Luckily, he's never had a conversation with Chaney before, which is something he can't have accounted for. Not that Chaney is reserved in any way, he'd just rather not reveal anything by accident that he's not supposed to.
Chaney pulls his eyes away from the screen, breaking out of the trance that Briar puts him under. He flashes a look backwards; Auren is directly behind him, she is chewing gum with her arms folded, and is tapping her foot impatiently. Her dress is sleeveless, which reveals a collection of tattoos dotted about her arms that he didn't know she had.
Not far behind Auren is Reese; Chaney's eyes meet the small, red-haired boy's. He sends Reese a nod and Reese sends him a reassuring smile in return.
The gong abruptly sounds, signalling that Briar's three minutes are up, and Chaney's are soon to start. But, unexpectedly, his heart freezes; stage-fright has never been something Chaney has had to worry about - the concept is alien to him. So, what's happening?
(Perhaps it's because, for the first time in a long time, he'll be able to talk to his parents directly.
Somewhere… they'll be watching.)
Chaney's heart un-freezes, and he strides confidently to his interview. A cheeky smile plays on his lips; a grand audience stretches back as far as he can see, clapping for him. The lawbreaking boy from Nine waves back to the crowd, and the cameras, then shakes the Host's hand before taking a seat opposite him.
The gong rings.
Chaney leans back casually in his chair and places his foot on his knee. He twirls his foot in circles, already becoming distracted by his surroundings.
"Welcome, Mr De Kuyper," the man greets, his hair and skin on his face is sparkling like it's just been polished by a thick bleach.
"What's up, Mr…Interviewer." Chaney greets back, genuinely forgetting his name.
This garners some unexpected laughs from the audience, something Chaney knows he can play on more.
The Host chuckles. "It's Felix Festus."
The next few questions are mostly icebreaker questions, which Chaney brushes aside with ease. However, Felix quickly takes note of this, and attempts to throw some harder shots.
"Oon a more serious note, I think we'd all like to know if charming Chaney has any family waiting for him back home?"
Chaney stares up at the lights for a moment, contemplating.
(The noise from the crowd seems to die down.
Why should he talk about his family? They ignored him, they forgot about him. Now it's finally his turn to ignore them back.)
Chaney snaps his finger. "Oh, I have this car!" he exclaims, staring back at Felix. "It's red and also real shiny… like you."
The laughter from the audience returns to his ears.
"Alright, very good but-"
"Yeah, I drive it all over District Nine, doing whatever the fuck I want, breaking the speed limit and…" He pauses. "Actually it don't really matter what else."
Felix leans in inquisitively. "Come on, don't leave all of us on a cliffhanger… unless it's something illegal?"
"Does robbing banks count as illegal?"
More laughter from the crowd, and Chaney's nonchalant expression only helps to further it.
(The tribute before Briar admitted to murder, so Chaney doesn't suppose his admission could hurt that much.)
Time is ticking down. Felix presses for more answers.
"Briar mentioned your… partnership. Now, nobody is judging you here, but is that what your partnership was in? Robbing banks? Has it got something to do with why you volunteered?"
Chaney narrowly avoids bursting out in laughter at the claim that nobody would be judging him, when that seems to be the very point of this. He raises an eyebrow, smirking mischievously. "That was a lot of questions at once, Mr Interviewer."
"It was. But answering one is better than answering none." Felix's voice is fast becoming more frustrated.
Lance gave Chaney a rehearsed deflection for what to say in the event that he was asked why he volunteered, but unfortunately, he can't recall it at this moment. So, he's going to have to improvise.
"I got a better idea," Chaney declares, taking in a breath. "Imagine for a second, you're me and I'm you. Urm…you would want to keep the answers to those questions to yourself, being me, don't you think? Then me, being you, could watch the games and discover the answers for myself, which, I think, would be much more exciting, if I were you."
Felix frowns and falls silent, along with the entire room, trying to unravel Chaney's word salad. But there's not enough time to do so, as the gong rings - to Chaney's relief.
"A-alright everyone, give it up for Chaney de Kuyper!"
Chaney bounds off the stage, taking in the hollers of the crowd. He slips backstage, cutting in-between Peacekeepers, whose eyes are glued to him. He finds Briar, and Jarvis waiting for him, but resists the urge to pull Briar into his warm embrace.
"That went pretty well, all things considered." Chaney gives his allies a jovial wink.
"Yeah… it was surprisingly not a complete disaster," Briar says.
Chaney looks at Jarvis. "She's so nice to me, isn't she?" He chuckles. "The only thing I'm disappointed about is I was dying to know if his hairline was real, and I didn't get a chance to ask."
"Like I said, not a complete disaster," Briar states.
"I hope the others are doing okay," Jarvis says.
"They'll be fine," Chaney offers. "Well… Auren is Auren, but Reese seemed okay when I saw him."
"He always does… I don't know how he does it," Jarvis replies.
After the interviews, the two lovers from District Nine stroll back to their apartment. Thanks to Chaney's interview, the Capitol may know that they are criminals, but at least it will act as a ruse to cover their more important secret. But it doesn't matter, Chaney knows that the truth reveals itself eventually. He's tired of running from it - the Capitol wants them dead either way, and he hopes Briar will realise this sooner rather than later.
As the Capitolites and Peacekeepers around them become more vacant, they subtly clasp their hands firmly around the others. Their apartment door nears, they can't help but drift closer together like they always have, like there's some kind of force attracting them.
(The force of love.)
Chaney is content. The memories of his parents' neglect slowly fade away, despite the Interviewers' attempt to stir it back to the surface. In fact, Chaney is feeling more and more like this is exactly where they belong.
Lilac Rafflesia, 16
The dazzling lights from above the stage dance and reflect off of Lilac's dark eyes, turning them a deep orange colour.
Unbeknownst to her, a smile forms under her lips. Many years ago, before her mother was taken from this plane of existence, Lilac used to sneak out beyond the cemetery, and into The Seam. She wasn't going anywhere in particular - only away from the cemetery; she was floating around, like a leaf in the breeze. People appeared no less miserable than in the graveyard, but at least they were alive - living and breathing. She would hear the sounds of the chatter of their hopes and fears. She would smell the fresh bread that they baked at the bakery. She would feel the rays of sun on her back. However, when she would return, having missed a day of grave digging, her father and brother would chastise her; especially her brother, as it meant that he had double the graves to dig than he was supposed to. "You're digging all the graves tomorrow," he barked. Then, her mother would jump to Lilac's defence; she would save the day, as she always did.
But then, one day, she wasn't able to save Lilac ever again, and Lilac supposed she must have been wrong about the land of the living - she never ventured beyond the cemetery fence ever again. Her experience in that horrible, humiliating costume during the parade only further cemented her hate for the land of the living, and so it seems, the little adventurer who used to enjoy sneaking out of the cemetery had been lost forever.
(Her graveyard was the only place that made sense. It was the only place where she knew she was safe.)
Coming to the Capitol could have been a big adventure for Lilac but despite all the glamour, and colour and smiles, nobody seems real here.
(So, what is it that is causing the smile to form on her face?)
Lilac glances around at the other tributes who are slowly filtering out for their interviews. No matter their height, strength, personality, hobbies, or goals, she's seen how they'll all end up - their eyes will be lifeless and hollow, and their souls somewhere else. She's seen it because she used to bury the kids from Twelve who died in the Games.
The small, long-limbed boy from Eleven is called up for his interview. Lilac's heart jumps in her chest like it's just been zapped - she's next. Her gaze lands on her district partner; he gives her a smile.
"You okay?" he asks.
Lilac nods.
"You'll do fine. Just tell them about your mother's stories," he offers.
Lilac's attention is diverted forward by the voice of The Host. "Please give a warm welcome to Lilac Rafflesia of District Twelve."
By now, with over twenty tributes having already been interviewed, the noise of the crowd has diminished slightly. But to Lilac, it is still alien compared to the cold silence of the cemetery. She shakes the Host's hand and sits down, but her head is already disorientated from the noise, like the cheers and yells from the audience have shaken her brain about.
"So Lilac, how does it feel to be in the Capitol?"
Lilac is snapped back into the room. The noise of the audience seems to die down.
"I don't know… to be honest. The dead bodies I used to bury back home had more personality than most of you," the pale girl says, her voice monotone.
Felix is the only person in the room to laugh. Well, at least it got the audience to shut up- Lilac muses to herself.
"Okay, so you were a… burrier?" Felix queries, sporting a cheesy smile with his false, white teeth.
"A mortician… yeah," Lilac corrects him. "Yeah, I had all kinds - murders, accidents, disease, or just plain starvation."
Felix frowns, although she knows her words of death are alien to him. "You've seen a lot already then. It must have been difficult."
Lilac shrugs. "The people that starved… I imagine they wake up someone else with much needed food and drink, and they could travel wherever they wanted to go. So, I would bury them before breakfast."
This time, she gets a few chuckles out of the audience, not that she cares, either way.
"Whatever the case. That's a very commendable line of work," Felix says.
"Uh-Huh. The best part was layin' into those thieves who tried to steal from the graves. They regretted ever coming near our cemetery."
Felix shakes his head. "Some people have no respect, do they?"
Lilac gives him another casual shrug. "I dunno, I think you and the thieves have a lot in common, personally."
This time Felix doesn't even pretend to laugh, nor does he have any follow up questions - he is just left in silence with the audience. Lilac guesses the silence is because her humour has gone over half of their heads and has struck a nerve with the other half.
But, the silence of the audience gives Lilac the opportunity to keep talking. "They had a nickname for me, ya know." She faces the audience. "They called me 'The Banshee'."
"Why was that? Did they think you were a monster?" Felix asks, raising his eyebrows.
"Nah." Lilac shakes her head then faces the audience directly. "The monsters were the ones that took my mother from me."
The gong rings, and Lilac exits the stage to uneasy silence. She feels their judgmental eyes pinned to her, but it doesn't faze her. She stays strong, like a rock against the endless waves of the sea.
As Dario's comparatively normal interview takes place behind her, Lilac makes her way backstage. On the way back to the apartments, she spots Fuma and Robin chatting in the corridor. So, she stops beside them, and then they glance at each other awkwardly - Lilac can only guess it's because of her rather unusual interview style.
"Nice job," Fuma says. At first Lilac assumes she's being sarcastic, but her genuine smile tells a different story, ah yes - she's trying to be polite.
"You don't have to lie," Lilac responds, and Fuma's district partner chuckles ironically.
Fuma quickly changes the subject. "Have you seen Zora?" She questions. "I haven't seen her since the private sessions and I'm… a little concerned."
"That may be for the best," Robin shoots back. The tall, bulky boy's expression is ice cold.
Fuma sighs, her eyes fall to the floor.
"We may see her tomorrow," Lilac offers, surprised by her consoling tone.
Just then, Dario hops down from the stage, and joins them, having just finished his interview. "That was pretty good," he says, placing his hand on Lilac's shoulder. However, Lilac shoots a glance at him, and he hastily releases it.
"Sorry," he murmurs, sheepishly. "But yeah… not what I was expecting but it was good!"
"Oh come on," Robin interrupts him condescendingly. "Let's be real, they didn't like her at all. If they end up sending something after us in the arena because of this, then I'm gonna be pissed."
Lilac purses her lips and shakes her head. "Whatever Robin, it definitely wasn't the strangest interview of the evening…"
Man, he reminds her of her brother, and not in a good way.
Despite Robin and the Capitol, a warmth begins to grow in Lilac's heart as her eyes travel around to the faces of her living, breathing allies, and she takes this moment in, and savours it because she knows more than most that it won't last.
Ozias Califera, 18
From when he was young, a consistent paranoia in Ozias's mind had always been that something bad would happen, something that would ruin his perfect life.
It plagued his mind on repeat…right up until the day of the fire.
When the smoke had finally started to clear, Ozias hid in a dense patch of the field, with his arms huddled around his legs. Tears ran down his cheeks. His stomach bellowed and begged him to move to find food.
But he didn't want to believe it was true; his family wasn't dead. He wasn't living his greatest nightmare. It took two days for him to drag himself up from that ditch - like a corpse clawing its way out of the grave. His face was charred, and his clothes burnt and torn, but none of that mattered; all that mattered was his family. When the fifteen-year-old eventually found his way back to his farmhouse, his heart sank deep in his chest. There was no sign of his family. Not his mother and father waiting to pull him into a cuddle and tell him everything was going to be ok. No Easton to playfully tease or little Aviana to fool around with. Not even a Peacekeeper or Firefighter in sight. All Ozias discovered were his family's burnt remains under their destroyed farmhouse.
His cry echoed for miles and miles around that day, and in the night the only thing that brought him sleep were the tears clogging up his eyes.
But, in the morning, a new fresh air travelled through the desolate building. Birds chattered all around him. Life had returned. Ozias's tears had disappeared, replaced by his curled fists of rage. A new energy flowed through his veins - one of vengeance. The Califera family had pleaded with the local Peacekeepers time and time again to do something about the wildfires, but they didn't listen - they gave the family nothing but silence. They destroyed his family… his life. So, he was going to do the same to them, he was going to destroy them, it was the reason he had been left alive. His suffering was to see this purpose fulfilled. Why else would he have suffered so much?
From the ashes he clawed his way out of what used to be his home. Food… he had to find food, otherwise he'd never get revenge. A mouse scurried under the fallen, burnt, coal-black wooden beams of his house, narrowly avoiding his grasp. So, Ozias trailed it through the fields until it led him to a few run-down and desolate buildings - the edge of Rustvale. His ticket to survival, to vengeance.
The time had come at last. He's been waiting three years for this moment. He's even come dressed as them, in his neat black suit and tie. He stands on his own, the entire queue of tributes having emptied before him.
The gong rings to end his district partner's interview. "Please welcome, Ozias Califera of District Fourteen."
The young man's fists curl into a ball, just as they had done on the morning after the fire. He steps up onto the stage under the eyes of the entire country, receiving as little encouragement as a criminal from Fourteen usually gets. But, his lips form a grin. He imagines the stunned shock on their stupid faces when he reveals exactly what he'd been feeding the Capitol swine in District Ten.
He shakes Felix's hand, who takes the bait and mistakes his grin for a genuine smile. "Good to have you," the Capitolite greets.
"Last, but certainly not least," Ozias smirks.
Felix then goes on to start talking about Ozias's allies and his score; neither of which the boy has any interest in talking about right now. "The training score is nothing," he explains. "It's just a number. Do you really think you can determine the outcome of anything in life with a number?"
(Gallus taught Ozias how to speak formally to make yourself sound more important than you are, and now he serves it back to the Capitol mockingly. It's only the first taste of what he has to offer them tonight.)
Felix, seeing that the subject is growing tedious for Ozias, decides to shift focus to the boy himself. "Us, and many folks back home are certainly wondering - how did Ozias Califera come to be sitting before us as one of District Fourteen's chosen champions?"
"I'm so glad you asked," Ozias gives the audience a charming smile and shuffles closer to them on his chair. "I started off in District Ten, however, my family died a few years ago in a fire…"
This gains some utters of sympathy from the audience, and Felix wears a more serious expression. "That's-"
"It's nothing," Ozias cuts him off, still facing the audience. "It meant that I could be here, sitting in front of all you lovely people."
This garners more approval from the audience.
Ozias smiles a viscous smile back at the audience. "You see, in my years of being homeless and wandering in Ten, I was recruited by a man named Gallous Adcock into a barber shop, where we had many distinguished customers."
Felix, nervously shifting around in his seat, attempts to interject once again but to no avail.
"The catch was the pie shop underneath the barbers-"
"A pie shop?"
"Yeah. You see, Gallus had been selecting targets for me to dispatch while I was cuttin' their hair. Then, he had the meat from their bodies turned into pies which…" he opens his arms out to the audience. "We would feed to our customers and their friends - the Capitolites. And they gobbled it all up like pigs at a trough."
Shock and disbelief engulf the room like fire engulfing a building. The farm boy from Ten watches his revenge take full effect in the empty, dim eyes of the audience, and he can only sit in glee and imagine the reaction from the Capitolites in Ten.
"Oh." Ozias raises his finger. "And I almost forgot-" he giggles. "I couldn't have done it without the help of my dearest business partner - Emery Vandermast, who you heard from earlier tonight."
Most shock erupts from the crowd, along with boos and jeers. "Get him off!"
The gong rings, and Ozias rises up to savour every moment of the Capitol's horror. He begins cackling, almost like an evil genius, unable to control himself.
Unexpectedly, the ruckus from the audience unexpectedly fades into background noise, like audible wallpaper, and time seems to slow. His smile dies down. His heart sinks from elation to… disappointment. How long will it take for them to forget about him after he's killed in the arena? How long until they neglect more people around the districts and another Ozias is created? His family must have died for more than this.
Then, the clearest thought enters the young man's mind like a lightbulb igniting - I have to win. I have to live. Then, he can enact his vengeance with a more hands-on approach. He can do a lot more damage to them as a double-crossing victor. He'll use his alliance to get revenge on Emery, then he'll use them to win.
Eventually, he is forced off stage, and dragged back to his apartment by Peacekeepers. He paces up and down his bedroom, going over the events which just took place in his head in every meticulous detail.
Ozias halts, darting his eyes to his bedroom door. Loud aggressive footsteps approach. The door swings open revealing none other than Emery Vandermast - he is red in the face, his veins are tight, and he's breathing rapidly. "What the fuck were you thinking?" He bellows. "What… what the fuck?"
"Nice to see you too," Ozias says casually. "We haven't caught up in a spell."
"W-we're fucked now, don't you see? What were you thinking?" He repeats, panting heavily.
"You thought the truth wouldn't come out, eventually? You thought everything you and Gal did together in that pie shop would just be forgotten?"
Emery's hand curls into a fist. He finally reaches boiling point and explodes even more than he did on their last day together in Ten, after Ozias shot Gallus.
Ozias always blushes when Emery is angry. In fact, he's so distracted that he only narrowly ducks underneath the boy's left hook. But his ex keeps charging at him, and the two of them get caught in a scuffle. In the end, Emery's momentum carries him forward causing Ozias to lose his balance. Once again, the Ten boy lands on top of him, pinning him to the ground but Ozias simply cackles in his face.
At that moment, Fourteen's escort and Peacekeepers burst into the room. Emery pushes himself up, still livid, and storms out without the need of force.
Ozias pushes himself back up, his mind clearer than it's ever been. "I'll see you soon," he calls after Emery.
Hi everyone, three chapters left until the games, free day, night before and then an interlude which I have already written. I'll put the training scores here for your interest but they never have much of an impact on my stories.
Geneve: 10
Landon: 9
Romulus: 11
Meilin: 5
Aida: 10
Brizio: 10
Day: 6
Meridian: 6
Zora: 3
Jokull: 7
Fuma: 7
Alizka: 5
Ren: 7
Briar: 7
Chaney: 7
Auren: 8
Emery: 7
Reese: 4
Lilac: 7
Ozias: 8