Hello everyone and welcome to the eighth Reaping chapter! I'm super excited to introduce you guys to Reverie and Annette, so let's get into it!


Reverie Sparks, 16

District Three Female


Reverie was awake earlier than normal, working on some papers for her father. She needed to finish them before she had to leave for the Reaping, so why not get them done early enough so she had adequate time to get prepared. Writing things over and over again sure was dull, but it made her father's difficult job so much easier for him and she was glad to help him out if it would get her even a second of his attention.

Breathing in deeply, she closed her eyes for a moment and tried to relax her tensed up muscles. They were so tight it was beginning to cause her some pain, but it wasn't a rare thing for her to do when she got too involved in something academic related. Reverie loved school, but it definitely took a toll on her body when she would forget to take care of herself.

All she was going to do was finish this one schedule up and then it was time for her to shower and get ready for the morning. Reverie wrote fast, albeit her handwriting beginning to get a little more messy than she would have liked. Her father would still be able to read it and he would be perfectly fine with it. With one final slash of her pen, she completed copying said schedule onto paper and pulled herself up out of her desk chair.

Her muscles and joints protested as they moved out of the position that they had been in for almost an hour, Reverie shaking her legs out once she reached a standing position. It was more comfortable now that she was moving around a little bit.

She probably looked like a hot mess right now, having rolled right out of bed and immediately starting on her task for the morning. Reverie didn't exactly care about her appearance most of the time, but that was usually within the privacy of the Sparks home and not in public. Her father's job had him and his daughter upholding a certain public image and Reverie was not about to be the reason why he might lose his job.

Padding over to her closet, Reverie opened the sliding doors and pulled out the most important article of clothing she owned: her mother's old romper. Her father had donated most of her mother's old clothes, wanting to move on as quickly as he could to avoid the heavy grief, but Reverie still cherished every reminder she got of her mother.

She missed her so dearly, but she had nobody to bring up those precious memories with. The romper no longer smelled like her mother's favorite perfume, but sometimes Reverie liked to imagine that it did. Occasionally, she would bring herself to spray a tiny amount on her pillow, hidden in its little hideaway in her bathroom. If her father found it, he would tell her to throw it away, that remembering the past would do nothing to help her in the future.

Grabbing the romper along with some fresh undergarments, Reverie opened the door to her bathroom and slipped inside, wanting to freshen up before getting ready for the long day ahead. The water heated slowly and was finally ready after what seemed like almost a quarter of an hour.

It felt good to scrub her scalp clean and even better to cleanse her body of the built up sweat from the tossing and turning that sleep brought. Watching the bubbles swirl down the drain, Reverie squeezed out some excess water from her long hair and turned the stream of water off.

She grabbed her towel from its hook a few feet from the shower door and closed herself in the shower once more, drying off in the warm, humid air left from the steam of the hot water. At last, she stepped out after wringing her hair out a final time and grabbed a different towel, intending on wrapping her hair up in that to dry.

Drying her body off, Reverie pulled on the fresh clothes sitting on the counter and took a short glance at herself in the mirror hanging above the sink. This would do just fine for her and it was good enough for the standard of appearance she was expected to have when going to things like the Reaping.

Reverie also rubbed her hair dry with the towel that was currently wrapped around it, planning on leaving it like it was after she brushed it out. It was mostly dry when she quit rubbing her head with the towel and she was satisfied with it for now as well. She brushed it out with her hairbrush, only remembering to be gentle with it after she just about yanked a whole strand of hair out of her head. Jeez, that actually hurt.

Hanging up both towels on their designated hooks, Reverie walked out of her bathroom back into her room. She grabbed the written out schedule that she had completed earlier and strode out into the hallway, taking a left and heading down the stairs. Her father's back was turned to her as she entered the kitchen, most likely cooking breakfast for the pair before he had to go to work and Reverie had to go to the Reaping.

"Morning dad!" Reverie cheerfully said as she walked behind him to set his schedule down next to his briefcase on the kitchen counter.

He turned around in surprise and replied, "Hey sweetheart, I wasn't expecting you to be down this early."

Smiling, Reverie responded, "Well, I was up and at 'em finishing up copying your schedule early so I could have more time to get ready for the Reaping."

"Of course, my daughter is always such a hard worker. I could never expect less of you, Reverie," he chuckled.

She giggled a little in response, her heart warming at the interaction. It wasn't every day that she got to have a decent conversation with him.

"Here honey, have some eggs before we both have to go," he told her.

Taking the plate she was offered with a bright expression on her face, Reverie turned and sat down on one of the stools that sat on the other side of the kitchen counter. It was a really convenient place to eat, and she didn't have to move to the dining room to sit down either.

She scarfed down her eggs, which were at the perfect temperature to consume, and said her thanks to her father for cooking her breakfast.

"Much obliged kiddo," came his response.

Glancing at the clock, her smile disappeared as she realized it was probably time to head out so she could make the Reaping on time. Luck was in her favor, she told herself. She would be fine. It wasn't going to be her that the escort picked.

She tried to bravely flash that smile back onto her face as she said her brief goodbye, but she felt like her father could tell that she was anxious. He didn't say anything, thank goodness. It would sure make for one awkward conversation. Sure, he tried his hardest to be a good parent, but since he wasn't around all that often, he just didn't know what to do most of the time.

Reverie breathed in deeply as the door shut behind her, trying and temporarily succeeding at calming her nerves. She had always ridden the bus to the square on Reaping Day, and things weren't gonna change this year with her house being several miles away from the center of Three. The nearest one was only half a block away, so she considered herself very fortunate with things in that aspect. She had her fingers crossed that she would be fortunate in other important aspects today as well.

Startled out of her thoughts by the whoosh of the bus doors opening, Reverie boarded the vehicle, scanning her fingerprint when she ascended the few stairs to the level that the seats were on. She offered a small smile to the bus driver and found a seat quickly, which allowed the bus to start moving rather soon after boarding.

Reverie blew a small stream of breath out of her perused lips as the buildings and houses flew by while the bus was moving along the road. Now was not the time to get nervous, she was going to be okay. Today was going to be okay.

The bus screeched to a stop by the street corner nearest the stop that the square was on, and Reverie shyly stood up. Swallowing once, she made her way down the aisle with several others and exited onto the bustling sidewalk. So many people always attended the Reaping, which made sense, but it always amazed her and made her even more anxious at the same time.

Reverie followed behind another girl that looked a year or two earlier and entered the line directly after her. It stretched over a few rows of little partitions, so it could be a while before it was her turn.

She ended up having to wait for about half an hour, which clearly meant that those running registration were speeding along as fast as they could. This could mean that it might be slightly more painful than usual since they probably weren't stopping to care about how rough they were. Finally, it was her turn. The woman grabbed her hand and yanked it towards her, pricking her roughly, as predicted. Reverie really didn't like getting poked, but it wasn't like she had a choice in the matter.

Thank goodness it looked like Reverie had come in with the last wave of kids. Hopefully they would start soon and her anxiety would be relieved the moment some stranger's name was called to be the female tribute this year for Three.

She reluctantly tucked herself into a corner of the section for girls her age and waited for the ceremony to start. It did pretty soon after she had gotten shoved a few times, not appreciated on her part, and Reverie was surprisingly relieved at the sight of the pink-haired man who would soon be selecting two kids to die. He seemed rather enthusiastic, which was very normal for someone with his job, as he tapped on the microphone provided for him. It screeched with feedback, making Reverie scrunch up her face and press her fingers to her ears, trying to block the noise out. People around her were having the exact same reaction, so it wasn't something to feel bad about.

Now it was time to watch that boring old video again. Surely the Capitol had to be bored of showing this for years on end. It wasn't even updated after the rebellion either. Even worse, it ended quickly and Reverie's heart started to pound through her chest. Please don't let that piece of paper have her name on it.

The pink-haired escort strode over towards the girls' bowl and yanked out a piece of paper dramatically. God this was going to give her an aneurysm if it stressed her out any more.

"The female tribute for this year's Hunger Games is Reverie Sparks!"

Reverie let out a gasp, her lips beginning to tremble as she tried not to cry. There were a few stray tears that dripped down her cheeks as she slowly made her way down the middle of the square, heading towards the stage.

She couldn't believe it. Who was going to help her father with all of those little tasks that Reverie performed for him? Who was going to get the job that her father had gotten already secured for her after she would have graduated? God, this was all going to ruin her father. First losing her mother, and now Reverie. He was going to avoid the grief by working himself to death.

Reverie realized something as she blocked out all the noise around her: she was going to try and win this. If she won, she would get her father back. He could stop working and spend time with her, the greatest daughter ever. Surely she could win the Hunger Games if she put her mind to it, and put her mind to it was what she was going to do.


Annette "Anne" Martel, 16

District Six Female


Anne didn't wake up until the sun was creeping up over the horizon, which was later than she usually got up. Normally she was already up and running around Six trying to do as many projects as possible at this time. She'd taken the morning off, mainly because of insistence from the owners of the several market stalls that she helped daily.

Sitting up in bed, Anne threw the covers off her legs and stretched her arms up above her head as she yawned. About time she finally got out of bed and started readying herself for the day. She would definitely consider herself a morning person, it was her favorite time of day with the beautiful sunrise and she felt like she did the most work in the morning as well.

She stood up, ready to take on the day, knowing that she first needed to decide on what she wanted to wear to the Reaping. Anne had a few different options to choose from, her family not exactly the richest but they weren't struggling either. Eventually, she decided on a flowy blue dress that fell to her calves, one of her favorites to wear to the market when she wasn't working or helping out.

Walking over to the bathroom, Anne grabbed one of the few washcloths that laid in their little basket and dampened it. She scrubbed her face lightly with it after she squeezed the excess water out, then laid it over one of the metal bars on the shower wall. Next, she applied deodorant to her armpits and grabbed her toothbrush once she was done. Anne squeezed a pea-sized drop of toothpaste onto the bristles of her toothbrush, snapped the cap of the toothpaste shut, and set it back down.

Humming around the suds from the toothpaste, Anne scrubbed her teeth for around two minutes to get all of the plaque off and make her breath smell fresher. Another priority of hers was keeping her hygiene as good as possible. She was all about keeping her appearance as nice as possible, not to make the public think that she was rich, but just to make herself feel good about how she looked.

Once she spat out the last of the toothpaste in the sink, Anne wiped her mouth on the hand towel on the counter and picked up her hairbrush from the container it sat in above the toilet. She spent around five minutes brushing through her hair, looking in the mirror to find it sleek looking. As she ran her hands through it, it felt silky, exactly how she liked it to be before continuing on to another task.

She tugged on her dress once she returned to her room, twirling around a time or two to get that exciting feeling of the soft fabric swooshing around her legs. Spinning to a stop, Anne let out a little giggle before laying sight on the sparsely decorated section of her dresser. There was only one item sitting on it, a picture of her late father. She walked over towards it, stroking a finger down the side of the frame fondly as she spoke out loud.

"Don't worry dad. Today's going to be no different than the years in the past. I'm going to be and out of there in an hour tops and then I'll help mom clean up the house a little bit."

Another soft smile appeared on her face before she turned to exit her room, walking out into the hallway that connected the room to the rest of the house. Anne wasn't planning on eating anything beforehand, simply because she didn't want to. She passed her mother as she was walking into the living room, the pair not exchanging even a look as they crossed paths.

Her mother had been distant like this for years, ever since that fateful day that her father had died of a so-called heart attack. Anne still didn't believe that the story they had been provided with was the truth, but she also didn't really have any evidence against it. They hadn't even gotten to see his face one last time before he was placed in the ground.

Might as well go ahead and head out, she thought to herself. Anne opened the front door, grabbing her favorite lightweight cardigan from its hook beside the door and shut it after she exited. The square was almost a mile and a half from her home, so she usually rode the train to the center of town.

It wasn't an everyday thing, but Anne also didn't go more than half a mile away from her home to go help at the market. She had several credits left from whenever they had last been refilled, so she knew that there wouldn't be an issue with paying for her trip there and back.

The stop was a few streets over from the street her home was on, so Anne was going to be doing a bit of walking at the very beginning and very end of her journey. She didn't mind. It was healthy to walk, and she didn't have any ailments that made her body protest the action either.

Upon reaching the train stop, she climbed the flight of stairs to the platform and was lucky enough to catch a train right as it was arriving. Anne joined the flow of passengers boarding and found a seat near one of the many doors that were open to allow entry. They would close quickly and only open again as the train reached another stop. She only had to ride it for two stops, then her destination was only two blocks away.

A chime echoed over the speakers, indicating that the train was about to depart, and Anne braced herself for the quick departure of the high-tech train. It zoomed along the tracks, stopping only a minute or two later, which meant the next stop was where she would get off at.

The remaining few minutes of this leg of the journey flew by just as quick as the previous ones had and soon the chiming noise went off again, which along with the slowing of the train, signified to her that she needed to stand up and exit when the doors opened.

With a whoosh, the doors in question flew open and Anne got off onto the platform, along with several others that had been near her seat on the train. She headed towards the stairs, ready to descend them and walk towards the square and get checked in.

She reached the bottom of the staircase quickly and bounced on her heels as she waited for her turn to cross the road that she needed to in order to get to the square. Crossing quickly after the signal lit up green, Anne reached the corner of the square soon after turning the corner. Time to get in line, she supposed.

It wasn't long before a serious-looking woman pricked her finger and pressed it roughly onto the sheet of paper before her, marking her attendance at the Reaping. Anne wished they did it differently, but she could understand why they did it this way. Too many risks of lies if they weren't double checking identities with blood.

Once she was released, Anne headed over to her section. Now it was time to wait for the start of the ceremony.

Finally, after an eternity of listening to the droning on of the people around her, the escort started the ceremony with an enthusiastic introduction to the Reaping video.

"Well hello there everyone! I know you're all excited to find out who our tributes are going to be this year, but we've got to wait a little bit. Now how about we start our little introductory film!"

Even Anne, one of the most positive people in Six (at least according to half of the market stall operators), groaned internally at this. It was just another dull way for the Capitol to rub in their victory in the rebellion and their continued punishment of the districts.

It wrapped up after about a little less than five minutes, thank goodness, and now it was time for the part that made her think negative thoughts. She reminded herself, take deep breaths, think about the positives. The odds were definitely in her favor with hundreds, if not thousands of other slips of paper in that glass bowl.

"Our female tribute for this year's Hunger Games is Annette Martel!" shouted the escort gleefully.

Oh god. The escort had really just said her name. Anne put her brave face on as she began her slow walk to the stage, determined not to look like a fool in front of everyone in Panem.

This was most likely going to be really bad, but no matter what happened, her father would be proud of what she did. There was one pretty big positive in all of this: at least if she died, she would get to see her father again.


And we have officially introduced both of our tributes from Three and Six now! What do you guys think of Reverie and Annette? I can't believe that we only have three more intros left before we get to head into the Pregames! I'm super excited! Thank you guys so much for reading, and a huge thanks to illuminating-spirit and Team Shadow for Reverie and Annette respectively! I'll see you guys in the next one!