The Hunger Games | Semi-Lit | Accepting!

[O.G.]

Kaia Kahler || District 10

The handshake was awkward, or at least Alejandro made it awkward by the way his arm shook so violently. She was lucky she managed to resist some of it and keep her own arm from doing the same. The second the nervous boy let go of her hand she pulled away, glad it was over. She was quick to turn and face the crowd again, happy she no longer had to look at his face so stricken with sadness and maybe fear. She didn't want to look at that. She was trying to remain calm and strong for herself, her friends, and her family. Maybe for Rumen too if he cared. To see Alejandro's face was almost inducing tears from her, seeing what a wreck he was becoming on stage. She wished for both of their sakes that he would suck it up, but she gave up the wish by the time he was looking up into the sky and humming some song that was foreign to her as the anthem was playing.

It was mostly drown out even to her, but still she could hear it. He was both making her sad and angry, very angry. Couldn't he be upset to himself, not announce it to her? He was announcing it to everyone else too, the look on his face was. There was no dignity in that, no thoughts concerning his family and how they might feel about seeing him look like that. Maybe he was selfish or maybe just flat out stupid. She hadn't been around him enough to know, but she was guessing he might have been a bit of a jerk. She supposed she would find out eventually, probably before the Games began, before they faced the reality of possible death at another tributes hands or maybe even the Capitol. The Gamekeepers could easily kill them, too, once they were in the arena.

The anthem was drawing to an end. That was when a group of Peacekeepers approached them and led them both into the justice building. To her own relief, she and Alejandro were separated. For a while, she actually wouldn't have to hang around him anymore, at least until they got on the Capitol train. Then she would spend her time with him mostly, she assumed. It wasn't like she could put much between them in a train with such limited space as opposed to the district where there would be miles to work with.

She was left to a room, a room grander than she had ever seen before, had the privilege of standing in. Only when facing almost certain death in the Games would she be allowed in such a place. A frown crossed her tanned face as she looked around the room, crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, wonderful paintings hung on the neutral walls. Everywhere there seemed to be a pop of color. It was lovely, but she couldn't help beginning to become upset. She slowly sat down on the very edge of a couch that was placed in the room, waiting to see if her family or someone else would come in to see her.

[MIND_FANG]

[Ahh, finally. Some time to be alone and write. 83]

C A M I L L A • K N I G H T

District 12 | Reaping

Camilla looked around at the sad, dirty faces of her peers who had been corralled like cattle into pens. Anger at the Capitol boiled up inside her, but in order to keep a straight face, she decided to think about something else. Camilla scanned the vicinity for her brother Jason, as usual. Her eyes locked on a tall guy with long, straight blonde hair who was standing with the eighteen year olds. Had he not been required by law to be here, he would have run off into the woods and become a hermit a long time ago. The thought of her brother being even dirtier and more rugged than he was made her want to giggle, but she stifled the soft laugh that bubbled up inside her for the sake of her stone-faced reputation.
As the lady that drew the names teetered over to the glass ball with the girl tribute's names inside of it on high heels, you could feel the intensity rise in the air. Camilla secretly held her breath. Not that the rest of District twelve wasn't holding her breath. With tense muscles, she fiddled with her fingers, but stopped when she noticed the girl next to her glance at her with snooty, laughing eyes. Camilla glared in the girl's direction, but said nothing. Click, clack, click. the Capitol lady's high heels clattered on the stage, only adding to her nerves. Slowly, she put her long fingers that were adorned with curved fake nails into the ball. She grabbed a slip of paper, and pulled it out. The moments that passed when she was doing this seemed like an eternity to Camilla, but she endured it anyways. It wasn't like she had a choice. Again, the anger seethed inside her at the Capitol. But it was too late to think about that now- the lady was calling her name.
"Camilla Knight! Our girl tribute for this years Hunger Games! Congratulations." she smiled at the camera. Horror nearly stopped her heart, but Camilla slowly walked up to the stage. Slowly, because she was shocked, and secondly because she wanted to cause agony on the announcer lady. As she mounted the stage steps, she turned around, and waved. Waved at her brother, her father, and anyone who cared to wave back. Camilla turned around, squared her shoulders and quickly went up the steps, and stood next to the lady. In turn, the lady took her hand and raised it up in the air. "Any volunteers?" she said with excitement. For her and the Capitol, and the first couple of Districts, it was an honor to be going to the Hunger Games. For Districts like District 12, you were lucky to make it through the year and the Reaping. Camilla looked out at her District. Her District - the one she would never see again. She tried her best to keep her face emotionless, and succeeded. These people didn't care about her, and if she showed she cared about them or cared about dying, she would be an immediate target at the Games. Besides, she always kept a straight face, always. When nobody volunteered, and the crowd was silent, the announcer lady pointed to the two seats where the tributes would sit, and Camilla made her way over there. When she turned and sat, she saw the crowd standing there, returning the wave from earlier. Their solemn, dusty faces, and grubby, waving hands made Camilla want to throw herself into her father and brother's arms and cry.
Now, she waited.

[Jadeghost]

~Jason Hawthorne~

Jason felt hollow as he was led onto the stage by the large Peacekeeper gripping his arm. He could still hear Selena's screams echoing behind him, and a wave of guilt washed over him. Once again, he hadn't been able to protect her.
Jason was still in a trance as he shook hands with his fellow tribute, but when the anthem played, he was pulled back into reality. Now nothing would ever be the same; he was in a fight for his life. And he had to win, or Selena would surely die.
He was soon shoved onto the train that would deliver him to the Capitol, and most likely to his death. No, he scolded himself. You can't afford to think thoughts like that. Jason sat on the edge of his bed, too scared to care that this was the nicest room he had ever seen in his life. He almost felt like crying, but he knew that he was probably being watched this very second. He couldn't risk it...
Suddenly, Jason jumped as he heard the door handle turn. A moment later, Luke and Andrew entered, closely followed by Elizabeth and Rebecca. Seeing his friends caused a fresh wave of remorse well up in his throat, and Jason had to swallow it down.
"Oh, Jason..." Rebecca and Elizabeth kept repeating, and they threw their arms around his neck. Jason's shirt was soon soaked with their tears.
Once they had pulled away, Luke and Andrew sat down on either side of him, and for a few long moments they were silent.
Finally, Jason broke it by saying, "Well, things will be different now..." Andrew met his gaze, but said nothing. "I need you both to watch over Selena closely. If you see any marks on her, you need to get her out of that house. I don't care where you hide her, but don't let Logan know you two have been helping me. If he hurt either of you..."
Luke draped one arm over his friend's shoulder. "You know we'll watch over Selena, man. She's like a sister to all of us." Andrew, Elizabeth, an Rebecca all nodded. "She wanted to be here, was literally screaming to, but Logan dragged her home..."
Jason sighed, but he knew it could not be helped. "You guys are the best," he said in a choked whisper, and pulled them all into a group hug.
A Peacekeeper poked his head inside the room. "Time's up," he said in a gruff voice. When his friends finally walked away, Jason finally collapsed onto the giant bed, covering his head with a pillow as he cried.

[Jenjo]

| Tallulah Leila Gray |
District Four | Reaping
A while later, her friends had to leave; it had felt like such a short period of time, and certainly not long enough. She watched them go, urging herself not to cry. A couple of other people came in to bid her farewell; people she knew from markets, some of the younger urchins she hung around with sometimes. She'd miss them all terribly; it hurt her to even think about leaving District Four, with a high possibility of never coming back.
When her hour was up, Tallulah was ushered from the posh room to a car that was waiting for her outside. She'd never been in a car before; only the richest of people drove them in District Four, and to be honest she found it just as easy getting around on foot. Though the car journey was short and smooth, Tally felt a little uncomfortable; she was dirty, her hair was a little frizzy and she still had a little dirt on her cheek. At the end of the short journey waited a train; shiny and sleek. Tally got out of the car, forcing her way through the crowds of people with cameras to board the train. A few Peace Keepers held them off as she got on. Taiven would arrive soon, she assumed.

(Could I reserve a spot for the female tribute of District 9? I'm not sure if you would allow that or not, so if not it's fine :3
I'll work on her character and post it tomorrow, I'm tired now XD)

{That's fine, I'll reserve for you ^^}

[O.G.]

Taiven Baxter || District 4

It was only expected that he only had a few seconds before a few peacekeepers came in and ushered him to a car, fighting paparazzi along the way. For the fun of it, he flashed a few of his charming smiles for the cameras. Why not? It was better than crying or showing any sign of fear. Once they made it to the car he slipped inside and was driven to the Capitol train. That was the train to take him to the Capitol, obviously. There he would train and junk of that sort. Maybe he could meet a few careers who he could join in a short alliance. After all, he was from District 4. He was expected to be a career..he thought. Why disappoint his district?

Once at the train station, he caught a glimpse of Tally walking into the train. Only a glimpse, though. The paparazzi was a little thick. When another peacekeeper opened the door for him, he got out of the car and was lead through the paparazzi. He was soon boarding the train himself and when the doors shut behind him, the shouting paparazzi seemed to fall silent. Man, the train was certainly soundproof. Looking around, he also noticed the quality of it. It was nice. He couldn't wait to trash his room or something, wherever his room was.

He let out an exaggerated sigh as he looked to Tally. The small girl, younger than him and dirty. He liked it that she looked her usual self. He wished that he could have convinced his father to let him be a dirty as she was. She wasn't that dirty, but compared to his pristine appearance, she was filthy. The tanned blond grinned at the pretty girl. "So, you get a token to represent the district?" he asked, pulling from his pocket the shark tooth necklace he had and holding it out for her to see it. "This is mine," he pointed out as if it wasn't obvious. "You've seen it on me before, right?" he asked as he put it around his neck where it looked out of place on his tan suit.

He was acting like they could be friends. He supposed they could for now, but in reality they might end up trying to kill each other in the Games. He didn't want to think about it. He didn't know Tally or anything, but why not talk to her? He didn't have anything better to do as far as he knew. He supposed he could go off to his room, but he didn't want to be alone. He liked being around people. He might go off in search for their mentor or something, but he'd rather their mentor just show up. he didn't want to get lost in the train.

[Jenjo]

| Tallulah Leila Gray |
District Four | Train
The doors of the train slid shut as Taiven arrived, ushered on board by a couple of Peace Keepers. Once again, Tally felt terribly awkward and and out of place; the train was so... clean. She cringed, not wanting to touch anything for fear of getting ticked off for being dirty.
She looked up at Taiven; he was older than her, and considerably taller. He was clean and tidy, his blonde hair framing his face nicely. She laughed quietly as he sighed dramatically. She watched him pull out a shark tooth necklace from his pocket; it made her smile. Her dark eyes followed his hands as he latched the necklace around his neck. "Coincidentally," she replied, "Mine happens to be something similar."
Tallulah pulled a durable, but thin, rope necklace from beneath her shirt. Attached to the bottom of the chord was a little, smoothed rock, carved into the shape of a small dolphin. She ran her index finger over it, before tucking it under her shirt again. As she did so, the train began to move. "Guess we're off," she said quietly, wanting to get off the train right away and walk back to District Four.
A moment passed, before their mentor arrived; it was a man, taller than her, with a tidy little black beard and mustache. His hair looked slightly ruffled, and it was as black as his beard. He wore a long blue trench coat and dark trousers. Bright blue eyes looked the two Tributes up and down. Tally tilted her head slightly.
"Darrien Lee," he said suddenly, not holding out a hand in greeting. His voice was deep. He paced around the two of them. "So, new Tributes. Wonder what I'll make of you both; you don't look too bad, lad - the wee girl might need a little work though..."
Tally glared at him. He didn't know her! She could probably knock him out cold then and there if she wanted to! Eyebrows furrowed, she kept her mouth shut.
"No time will be wasted while we are on this train," Darrien said sternly, oblivious to Tally's glaring. "I want to start to work out your strategies. You, Tallulah, isn't it? Yes, I reckon we could make you look well weak, you look like a little defenseless-"
Tally practically exploded. "I'm not weak!" she spat, clenching her fists, "I'm not defenseless, and I'm not going to act like it!"
Darrien raised an eyebrow. "You'll do what I tell you, girl, or you'll not stand a chance." he moved on to Taiven, shoving Tally aside. She was outraged.

[O.G.]

Taiven Baxter || District 4

Taiven watched as Tally pulled out a necklace of her own that was already around her neck. He hadn't noticed the thin rope at all before. He looked at rock, almost perfectly smoothed and carved into a little dolphin. Cute for a girl, he guessed. "Hm," he huffed, nodding his head. So, they both had sea themed necklaces. That was...not very interesting. He sighed again, though softer. "That's cool," he said, his tone losing a lot of expression. He didn't really care that much about either of their tokens, but it was better than standing in silence waiting for their mentor to show up if he would.

With a small lurch, the train pulled forward and its rate quickened substantially within only several second. He didn't find it hard to keep his balance when the train began to go, but after it was speeding along the tracks he felt a little weird standing in a room that was moving. It almost made him want to get on his hands and knees as if he was going to lose his balance. Of course, he didn't do that. How weird might that look? Plus, Tally didn't seem to mind the movement. "Guess so," he agreed, glancing out the window. Goodbye District 4 and soon, hello Capitol. The thought brought a definite frown to his face. Wishfully, this goodbye wouldn't be final.

He was about to ask her where she thought their mentor was and why he hadn't shown up yet, but before he could their mentor showed up. Finally. He looked at the man who was maybe an inch or two shorter than him. Not so intimidating in height was he, but there as something about the way his facial hair was grown, his messy black hair and penetrating blue eyes that made him feel uncomfortable. He locked his own blue eyes on the man's as he looked him over. What was the man thinking about him? He supposed he'd find out son enough.

When the man finally spoke, his voice was startlingly deep. His eyes widened a bit for a moment before he could stop them. He quickly regained his composure, though, and just listened to the man. He was complimented up front. Ha. Maybe he'd get some decent training from Darrien, then, if he thought he didn't look so bad. Maybe Darrien would be pleased if he knew he had been training, not that he knew much. He knew how to throw spears pretty decently and he was great with knives.

When Tally was mentioned, he looked down at her. He noted her glare and looked back up at Darrien, who seemed to not notice it. The man moved on, talking mostly about Tally. He wanted to make her look weak? He didn't understand that strategy at all, but what did he know? Maybe it would work, but, before the man could continue, Tally exploded. She thought she wasn't weak. Maybe not compared to other girls, but he even thought she was a little scrawny with a small chance of surviving against larger tributes. Then again, how did he know if she didn't have any good tricks up her sleeves? He pulled his eyes away from her at the thought, just in time to see Darrien turning his attention to him. He half smiled at the unfriendly looking man.

"Name's Taiven. Taiven Baxter if you didn't already know," he said in some sort of greeting.

[Jenjo]

| Tallulah Leila Gray |
District Four | Train
Tally clenched her fists, absolutely furious. He didn't know her! She could throw a spear further, faster and better than all the other urchins (apart from Jonah, perhaps); she could slice Darrien's neck with a knife if she had one on her. But no, that didn't seem to matter.
Darrien nodded at Taiven. "I reckon I could work well enough with you, Taiven." in Tally's mind, that translated to 'I like you better so I am going to help you the most'. Darrien paced around Taiven, looking him over. Perhaps she shouldn't have overreacted; but that's just how she felt. How could she, Tallulah Gray, be weak? She had lived for years on the streets with only the other urchins; she'd survived.
"Go get changed, both of you." he barked, "The journey isn't very long, only a couple of hours." he waved them on, then turned to Tally and said, "Go take a shower, girl. You've got a splash of dirt on your face."
Tally glared at him as she walked her mentor walk away to another cart. Two Capitol people escorted Taiven and Tally to their rooms, which were quite near each other. Before Tally even got the chance to so much as open her mouth to say bye to Taiven, she was ushered into her room.
The Capitol woman commanded her to go into the bathroom and scrub off all the dirt. Reluctantly, she did.
The bathroom was pure white and so sparkling clean that Tally's jaw dropped in surprise. How was it even possible to live so cleanly? She took off her dirty clothes and unlaced her scruffy mountain boots. Opening the shower, she slipped in and turned on the water. It was freezing, but she didn't mind. She flicked a couple of switches, turned a couple of knobs, but ended up regretting it and went back to cold water because the warm water was much too hot for her.
Scrubbing the dirt off her skin with a firm sponge, Tally sighed. After getting the majority of the dirt off her, she washed her hair, which had not been technically washed with soap or anything for at least a couple of weeks.
When at last she emerged, the Capitol woman was gone. She wrapped a white towel around herself, before stepping into her room.
It had a bed, a wardrobe and a desk, all in various tones of blue and white. Opening the wardrobe, she groaned when she saw that the majority were dresses and skirts; all but one pair of grey trousers. She pulled the trousers out and slipped them on, finding them to be rather comfy. A blue t-shirt hung on another hanger, and she took it off, glad there was something plain and less girly than everything else in the wardrobe.
To her surprise, there was a hairdryer in one of the drawers. But Tally decided against it; heck, she'd never even used one before! Instead, she tied her damp hair up in a loose bun, not really minding what she looked like.
She wondered if dinner would be ready yet. Gathering up her own clothing and stashing it in a canvas bag she'd found in the wardrobe, Tally opened the door of her room. She didn't want to see Darrien, and the only other person on the train that she knew was Taiven; she didn't exactly want to get lost, to say the least.

[O.G.]

Taiven Baxter || District 4

A grin, something like a proud one, crept across his face at Darrien's words. He always knew he was strong, capable, but hearing it seemed to confirm it further. He didn't think much about his chances surviving the Games, but if this mentor thought he was good, maybe he would win. Why wouldn't he? All he had to do was listen to his mentor, his advise. Maybe he would compromise if he felt he needed to, but listening would be fine for now, whenever Darrien would give them any advise. If he liked it, he would take it and if he didn't like it he would come up with his own plan, he guessed.

'Get changed, both of you,' That seemed decent advise. He didn't want to wear his stupid suit anymore. It was hot and restricting. He nodded as Darrien walked off into a different cart. He turned to Tally, prepared to give her a teasing grin because of the way she seemed so upset, but before he could they were being ushered to their rooms by some Capitol people. His room came first and he was in it before he could even see where Tally's was. Oh well. The door was shut behind him from one of the people who led him there. It was like..they were some kind of animal that needed to be caged. Weird. Not the kind of treatment he would expect being a tribute in the Hunger Games. He figured they would be treated a little more..special before they were going to die..except for one tribute.

He looked around his room, too colorful for his liking. He wondered, for a moment, if they put him in the wrong room. It wasn't pink and frilly, but there was a lot of bright yellows and blues and greens. Even some red. Why? He would have liked it calmer, a room that seemed more relaxed. Instead he got..this. His eyebrows furrowed as his blue eyes, usually sparkling looked around the room. Did they not want him to sleep? Maybe it was just to keep his mood happy. Instead he was a bit upset with the way it looked. Boy had they failed if that was what they were trying to do, to try and make him happy.

He finally decided to just roll his eyes before he decided he would take his stupid suit off. He unbuttoned it with coordinated finger, in hardly any time at all having it and then his undershirt stripped from his body. He undid the buckle on his belt and kicked his pants off too. Finally, he could actually feel the air around him, cool and refreshing. He kicked his shoes off before sitting on the edge of the bed to pull his socks off. Once his socks were off, he sighed contently. This was much better, more normal. Well, he might have shorts on if it were completely normal. He decided to do just that, find some shorts to wear.

After he dug around in the drawers for a few minutes, he did find a pair of jean shorts. They would do, he guessed. He slipped them on before looking in the mirror. Ugh, his hair was still so nice. He quickly ran into the bathroom, using the sink to wet his hair and whatever soap he found first he used on his hair to rinse the hair product from it. Once he finished, he slung his hair around a lot like a wet dog might. He didn't want to use a towel. He didn't mind the beads of water that slid down his back and chest after he slung some water from his hair. As a matter of fact, he quite liked the feeling. With that he decided to locate Tally, maybe find out what room she had to see if it was as bright as his. He walked to the exit to his room and opened the door before stepping out into the hallway, bare footed and shirtless. He looked from one side to the other, finding Tally standing at her room door with wet hair as well. He laughed. "What's up?" he asked, filling the short distance between them to peer into her room just to see if it was as bright as his. "Your room as colorful as mine?" he asked.

[MIND_FANG]

[[I don't quite feel comfortable enacting the rest of the reaping without the boy from district twelve rping as well. What should I do?]]