District 12 Reapings

ELRIS CONROY (14)

DISTRICT TWELVE MALE

People often told Elris that he had to grow up.

Elris would simply give these people a quizzical look, wondering what they could possibly mean by growing up.

He was already working in the mines at the tender young age of fourteen, after begging his friend Tamsin to allow him to work there, so in Elris's opinion, he had very much grown up.

People often wondered, why would he ever want to work in the dirty old mines where he could easily die in the blink of an eye?

For the thrill of it, of course!

District Twelve was by no means a large District, with little areas for exploration or adventure, so young Elris took one look at the dangerous shafts where Tamsin worked in, and his eyes had lit up with excitement at the thought of working there.

Don't be like them, be a merchant instead, it's much safer, his older sister Elise, who was pretty much his second mother, considering their mother was constantly busy and hardly ever showed up in his life, had implored.

But life as a merchant had never brought any sort of thrill, any sort of raw adventure that Elris had so craved all his life. So, after a long argument with Tamsin, she had eventually relented and consulted with her boss, who reluctantly allowed the eager young boy to work in the Iselin Mines, the same mines that Tamsin worked at day in, day out to support her Seam family. The mines could be rather scary at times, every adventure posed a new threat that could vanquish him off the face of Panem, but with Tamsin by his side, he had always felt safe.

Today, however, was not a working day.

No, today was a holiday of sorts for the workers.

Because it was the day of the Reapings.

The children of Twelve were, naturally, absolutely terrified at the thought of going into the arena. After all, only two children from Twelve had ever emerged from the arena alive, which wasn't a statistic that could ease the hearts of the children. Most of their kids usually died in the Bloodbath, doomed to perish at the hands of some Career in a brutal manner, forced to play the Capitol's stupid game right to their deaths.

Elris, however, wasn't too worried. He simply treated the Reaping Day like any other normal day, going around greeting everyone with a smile, cracking jokes, trying to liven up the mood of his downcast District counterparts.
After all, worrying never did anyone any good, did it?

He sauntered across a street, stepping aside to allow a man delivering a parcel to the nearby Lysander Restaurant to pass through. The man had a weary, scrunched up look on his face and he was breathing heavily as he stumbled his way forward, grunting under the weight of the parcel. Elris tried to offer his help, but the man simply shouted at him to back off. This would deter most children, but Elris simply smiled warmly at the man and uttered a chirpy, "Cool beans, have a nice day!" before he whirled around and skipped away. Who cared if the man hadn't been nice to him? That only gave Elris an even bigger urge to repay his rudeness with kindness. After all, maybe a dash of happiness was all it took to soften his heart.

As he sauntered past the southern entrance of the Hob, he waved at one of the vendors, who waved back. Most people found this particular vendor to be a shady, untrustable person, but Elris had gotten to know him and he had been as sweet as candy.

What could possibly be off about him?

On his right was the fence, the one that wasn't very well guarded, if he was being honest. Though that had never bothered him, after all, it had provided a window to countless opportunities for young Elris, allowing him to embark on numerous adventures in the woods and beyond.

For instance, the day that he and Elise had discovered a lake brimming with life had been an exciting one, a day he would never erase from his memory.

Because to erase that memory would be to erase his knowledge on how to swim, which wouldn't be nice, would it?

He could vividly remember swimming contentedly amongst schools of freshwater fish, laughing as he splashed about and played with Elise in the water. And of course, there was that memory of his eyes widening that one time he dived beneath the murk of the surface and discovered an underwater cave that had hidden a mysterious, old piece of parchment, with cryptic writing upon it mashed together with a bit of familiar English.

That map now lay concealed in his drawer, away from the prying eyes of others, but nonetheless still one of his most prized possessions.

He eventually reached the tree where he and his friend Gary would usually meet before the start of every Reaping. It was an old, sturdy oak, with tall, strong branches that Elris could effortlessly climb if he wanted to, but Gary was sitting on the ground, so he didn't. In fact, Gary had fallen asleep, snoring away as he sat slumped against the trunk of the oak tree, a tiny bit of drool escaping that big mouth of his. Elris giggled as he walked right up to Gary, but before he could wake him up, a figure burst through the leaves and hung upside down right in front of him, a loud "Boo!" blaring into Elris's ears.

Elris yelped as he stumbled backwards, before he realised that it had only been his good old friend Lila. Lila was hanging upside down from a particularly low branch, her shoes hooking onto the branch as she folded her arms, a mischievous grin plastered all over her face. "Gotcha!" she snickered.

Elris could feel his heart flutter a little as he gazed dumbly at Lila. He couldn't explain it, it was an inexplicable feeling that he had never felt towards anyone in his life before, but something brewed within him every time Lila was nearby.

It was odd, but he quickly brushed it aside, allowing a smile to spread across his face as Gary's eyes fluttered open, revealing a pair of grey eyes that glimmered cunningly at him. "Ha, fooled ya. You're too naive, El."

Elris rolled his eyes. "Oh shut up, Gary." He tried to look irritated, but ultimately failed, and ended up bursting into peals of laughter, like he always did.

Lila fist-bumped Gary, then sauntered over to Elris's side, her long blonde hair flowing in the gentle breeze. Elris could feel the butterflies fluttering in his stomach, and he flashed her a goofy smile as she gave him a hug. "You ready to go?" she asked, her smile slowly fading as a hint of nervousness began to shimmer in her fascinatingly unique emerald eyes.

Gary got up, dusting some dirt off his pants, his initial coy smile vanishing, replaced by a grim scowl. "It's the Reapings, Lila. You can never be ready to go."

Elris pulled both of his friends into a tight hug, smiling encouragingly at both of them. "Hey, it's gonna be fine, none of us took out any tesserae, we'll be fine, trust me!"

Gary nodded cautiously. "Yeah, I guess, you're right, but you can never be too sure…"

Elris patted him in the back. "Come on, guys, let's race to the Reaping Square, shall we?"

That old mischievous smile returned to Lila's face, and her eyes glinted with excitement once more. "Oh, you're so gonna lose."

With that, the trio burst forward, laughing as they ran forward, swerving around people and objects alike, trying to outrun each other. Elris grinned as he jumped over an old cardboard box that lay astray on the dirt, watching in delight as his friends' worries about the Reapings seemed to have vanished for the time being. Good, they were better off happy before the anxiety-inducing event known as the Reapings. He chortled as he felt the wind rushing against his back, and for a minute, he felt as though he could take off and soar into the clouds, before embarking on a brand new adventure high up above the dull world that they had grown up in.

He sighed, soaked up in his daydream, momentarily losing his focus.

Which led to him crashing straight into a man in front of him. He yelped as he tumbled to the ground, a tall, burly man with a shaggy beard and fierce, dark eyes looming over him, an enraged look blazing through his face. The man wore dark clothing, and had scars all over his body. He greatly resembled one of the gangsters that had led Elris into a dark alley with the promise of ice cream, before cruelly beating him up just a month ago. A normal person would have gotten the hell out of there as soon as possible.

Not Elris, though.

He staggered to his feet, and squeaked, "I'm so sorry! Are you hurt?"

Ahead of him Gary and Lila skidded to a halt, and their eyes widened at the sight of the man. "Elris, get away from him!" Gary shouted, but Elris didn't pay him any attention. After all, this was just another citizen of the world, someone who Elris wanted to get along with, or at the very least, ensure there were no hard feelings between them.

The man didn't respond to Elris's prior question. He simply glowered down at him, a low snarl spluttering out of his lips.

Elris, however, wasn't deterred.

"Hi, my name is Elris!" he piped up, grinning broadly as he extended a skinny hand. 'What's yours?"

The man didn't shake Elris's hand, no, instead, as Gary shouted and begged for Elris to run, the man reached into his pocket, and Elris's eyes widened as the familiar glint of a knife blade came into view.

Just then, a loud voice roared from somewhere behind the man.

"Hey! Get away from him!"

TAMSIN REID (18)

DISTRICT TWELVE FEMALE

People often told Tamsin to open up more often.

Well, Tamsin thought as she glared at the man who towered above Elris. With people like those roaming the streets, how on earth am I supposed to open up?

She marched forward, a stern, intimidating blaze in her eyes as she approached the man, who had dropped his knife and was gazing back and forth between her and Elris, who stood rooted to the spot, trembling like a leaf.

"Elris, get away from there," she commanded, her voice firm, stoic, refusing to be disobeyed. "I've got this."

Elris didn't argue. He dashed off and joined those two friends of his, his teeth visibly chattering as that gangly boy, what was his name? Gaby? Gary? Whatever his name was, the boy hustled him forward, and the three of them ran to the Reaping Square. Tamsin turned back to face the man, who gave her a ferocious growl. Tamsin, however, stood firm, her face as stoic and unrelenting as ever, as she balled her fists, daring the man to advance. Eventually, the man gritted his teeth, clearly unwilling to provoke a girl who was much taller than him and had a reputation for being rather stoic, and scuffled off.

Tamsin huffed as she turned on her heels, shaking her head slightly.

Why can't Elris ever learn? She sighed, thinking about the boy she considered to be her little brother, the sweet, innocent sibling of her girlfriend Ellery who seemed to think that everyone was nice and a bucket of daisies and blah blah blah.

Which was exactly why she felt a strong urge to be by his side, fiercely shielding him from harm, doing all she could to ensure his safety.

Because deep inside, Tamsin did have a heart, contrary to what many in the Seam seemed to think.

She marched ahead to the Reaping Square, ignoring the looks that some of the merchant kids at the Hob were giving her, although when that boy who worked at Gareth's Trinkets hurled an insult at her, she really did have to resist the urge to punch him.

She had no time for their bullshit.

She steered towards the quieter alleys, as large crowds began to form on the main streets as families and friends alike gathered to say their final blessings before the Reapings. Strangers put Tamsin off, and she just preferred these much more lonely little alleyways, especially the one behind the Rosemary Restaurant, as they were not only an escape from the hustle and bustle, but also a hidden shortcut to the Reaping Square.

She was killing two birds with one stone, really.

Eventually, she arrived at the Reaping Square, where to her dismay, a sizeable crowd had already formed. Tamsin bit her lip as she strolled ahead, the people slowly shiting to allow her to pass through, not wanting to come anywhere near her of all people.

And then she spotted Ellery, giving Elris and her older sisters Elise and Elenore one, final group hug. There were nervous tears brimming in Elise's eyes as she mumbled wishes for her Ellery and Elris. That girl had pretty much raised her siblings ever since she was young, and she had always been kind to Tamsin, giving her food and money whenever she went starving, so she was more than good in Tamsin's books. She stood off to the side, allowing the Conroy family some space as she watched on, whilst simultaneously attempting to avoid the surge of people that were quickly making their way to the Reaping Square, hollow looks of submission plastered on their faces as they marched steadily onward.

It's like they've already given up.

District Twelve tributes weren't known for being fighters. Quite the contrary, really, they had a growing reputation of being quitters, tributes who simply gave up in the Bloodbath, wishing a quick death in the heat of the conflict rather than a long, drawn-out one at the hands of the Careers later on in the Games.

This was what Tamsin hated the most about her District: their lack of a fighting spirit.

And so long as this acceptance towards defeat lingered on in the hearts of the District, well, they could kiss goodbye to any chance of ever winning the Games again, in Tamsin's opinion. If they wanted to win, they had to fight, work hard, keep going no matter the circumstance.

Shame only Axel and Haymitch had ever seemed to show that sort of determination to win.

The Conroys began to separate and Elris and Ellery made their way towards Tamsin, as beside her, a girl gave her a funny look, which Tamsin responded to with a cold stare.

"Loosen up, Tammy," Elris told her, grinning as he gave her a friendly slap in the back.

He was so sweet, so pure, so innocent, it was simply unbelievable. Just the way that he still seemed to maintain that air of positivity even as the Reaping loomed on, it just gave Tamsin all that more obligation to protect him with all she could.

Tamsin forced a smile as Ellery gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. "We'll meet up at the Hob after the Reapings?"

Ellery nodded, her eyes shining with a suppressed fear. "Yeah, we can have lunch at Tancred's Tavern."

"That place?" Tamsin snorted, her voice quiet as ever, a stark contrast from Ellery's rather booming voice, in an attempt to keep their discussions private in the midst of this large crowd.

After all, she didn't want any strangers snooping by.

"Cool beans," Elris chirped, nodding as though he hadn't just been attacked by a hostile man on the streets. "Now let's go, they're starting soon!"

With that, Tamsin said her goodbyes and well wishes to the pair, before shuffling off to her place amongst the sixteen-year-old girls, keeping her gaze low to the ground in an unsuccessful attempt to remain unnoticed. The girl who stood beside her was one of the wealthier merchants who worked at the Hob, a fairly snooty one in fact, and she made a flamboyant attempt at looking as attractive as possible in her gorgeous dress that Tamsin couldn't help but admire.

But she didn't admire the girl as a person.

Because she was renowned for being a lazy, spoiled brat who relied too much on her parents' money and the help of her clique of friends in order to get by. Such laziness was unacceptable in Tamsin's books. And she bet this girl didn't have to take out any tesserae either.

Lucky.

Just then, the escort marched up on stage, dressed in that ridiculous hot pink dress that looked as though it had been flushed down a toilet several times. The mere sight of it made Tamsin cringe, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion as to how the heck this was even considered an acceptable thing to wear.

The height of Capitol fashion, truly, those idiots are too lazy to even come up with a decent fashion sense, she thought, rolling her eyes as the escort, whatever her stupid name was, adjusted her laughable sanguine red wig and began to babble on and on into her microphone. Tamsin just shut her out, unwilling to hear a single word that came out that mouth. She simply had no time for her, or the Capitol's, utter bullshit nonsense.

Then the accursed moment of impending doom arrived, having crept up upon them throughout the duration of the proceedings. Tamsin gritted her teeth as the escort sang out in her shrill voice some choice words, before thrusting her sticky wimp of a hand into the girls' Reaping bowl.

Not Ellery, please, Tamsin prayed. She couldn't bear to imagine the thought of Ellery being Reaped, no, that was simply too much for her to stomach.

But when the escort pulled out a tiny slip with a damned name printed in a nightly shade of black ink and read it out, it wasn't Ellery's name.

It was hers.

"Tamsin Reid!" the escort shrieked, grinning from ear to ear as she read out her name.

Tamsin froze, her muscles cramping up within her as suddenly, everyone's gaze turned towards her.

Oh gosh.

A steady step forward was the best she could muster, as a horde of thoughts charged through her mind, trampling across her nerves with hooves of anxiety.

What about her father? The one with an injured arm? Who was going to take care of him when she was gone?

Stop stalling, she scolded herself, willing herself to move forward, maintaining a stoic, steely expression on her face for the nation to see. She could feel the stares and looks that were being cast out towards her from the entire District, her face heating up a little by the intensity of it all.

This couldn't be real, could it?

Even as she stood on the stage, her thoughts still strayed to her poor, helpless, injured father, who couldn't possibly look after himself.

She had to come home for him, even if it meant she had to kill.

She wasn't going to be yet another District Twelve tribute, one who would typically surrender and cave in to their miseries right at the start.

No, she was going to fight it out until the bitter end.

And she was going to win, she was utterly determined to do so.

That was, until the escort read out the male tribute's name.

"Elris Conroy!"

"No…" she choked out, her face quickly turning a horrid shade of pale as Elris came into view, tears brimming in his eyes as the crowd parted around him, carving out a path for him to walk to the stage.

To the point of no return.

But Tamsin was in a mess of emotions, as an array of options, each one resulting in the death of at least one of the pair, encircled her head like a halo. She couldn't afford to lose, she had to win, for her father…

But what about Elris, then? She couldn't bear to see the boy she considered to be her little brother, this sweet little friend of hers, die right in front of her eyes.

A tear slid down her cheek as Elris stepped onto the stage, a ghost of a forced smile on his face as tears gushed down the side of his face, cascading down his oddly pale cheeks like the Black Falls near the Seam. "No, Elris, no, please…" she cried out, for once ignoring the fact that she was showcasing a form of weakness to the entire nation.

Her stoic, intimidating facade fell apart completely in a matter of seconds as Elris ran up to her on the stage, and she enveloped him in a hug, both tributes crying in each other's arms.

It was the worst that could have possibly happened to them on such a day, one that inspired terror in the hearts of many, and now, in the aftermath of it all, Tamsin was left with a dilemma of a decision.

Who's going to go home, me or Elris?

Sponsor Question:

What did you think about Tamsin and Elris? How far can both of them go?

A/N: And there we go, yet another chapter and this time it's Elris and Tamsin from District Twelve! Thank you to Remus98 for submitting these two, and for reviewing every single chapter thus far and being a great friend. I hope I did (decent) justice with them, I know they might not be that great and the quality might have taken a dip because this is my first Reaping chapter, so bear with me xd. Anyway, that's all for now, the updates will come when the tributes come so no need to rush, but if you can, get your tributes in quickly (but again, don't rush or stress over it, that's the last thing I want to imply) :) For now, stay safe, hope you have a great day/night, and cheers :)