District 10

[AlphaWolfQuin]

District 10​

 

[LittleMoth]

Name: Persephone (Seph) Jax
Location: District 10
Attire: Black flanel shirt over a white t-shirt, heavy boots, knee length cargo shorts smudged with grass stains.
Weapons: None
Supplies: None
Date/Time: Reaping Day/ Early Morning
Tagging: Open

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Seph opened her eyes and stared silently at the sky above her. Last night she hadn't bothered to return home and instead she slept under the stars with her runt fox Coal at her side. The tiny orange furred creature curled tightly against her side and gave a small grunting noise before parting it's maw and yawning sleepily. Sun beams caught Seph in the eye and she blinked away the white spots before sitting up and shaking the bits of leaves and twigs from her short hair.

This morning, Coal was quiet and not in his usual bouncy nature. Seph was about to ask why when she remembered. "Oh yeah," she murmured quietly, "it's Reaping Day...." Her eyes lowered to the grass. It was always a day of numbness for her. It did not give her any dread, sadness, or excitement as it did many others. The only emotion it ever really brought forth was that of annoyance because it meant that she had to go into town and stand in that terrible crowd where people bumped into each other and milled about until the Tributes were called away. It was almost her time of vulnerability until she was free of these stupid Games and she would never have to go into town for such a thing again.

The bells in the main building of District 10 began to chime and all of the eligible citizen gather in the square and began to be sorted by age and gender. Many were dressed in their best attire, but Seph never saw the point in that. Many also had family there to cry against them and hold them, but Seph was an only child and her parents always chose to stay home during the Reaping, as their cold daughter would always spurn any affection from them. So she was there alone, with the exception of Coal who she had buttoned in beneath the over-shirt she wore. Occasionally, the fox would poke his head out of the collar of her shirt to look around in curiosity.

Seph checked in; pricking her own finger with a safety pin that was in the fabric of her shirt, so that the mediator would not have to touch her hand at all. Then, sullenly, she made her way over to the area where 17 year old girls lined up. Reaping always seemed to take forever it seemed. Then at last, a ridiculous woman who appeared to be more lizard than woman stepped onto the stage and made her speech about the wonder of the Hunger Games, and a bunch of other stuff that Seph simply tuned out. Then, the calling began.

The woman's synthetic green hand dipped into a glass bowl and she plucked out the first piece of paper.

Seph stared off over the rise of trees in the distance and watched a bird wheel over the rounded tops.

The lizard woman pulled open the paper, squinted and then shouted, "Persephone Jax!" though, she pronounced it "Purs-eh-fone."

Seph continued to watch the bird, and she identified it as a Golden Eagle. A lovely creature she thought. She wondered what it would be like to have wings.

After a moment of silence and puzzled looks from the Peacekeepers, someone jumped up on staged and peered at the paper before glaring at the woman and leaning into the microphone. "PERSEPHONE JAX!" he roared.

This time, Seph's attention was caught. She blinked and looked up at the stage at the man and the woman with a blank expression. A moment later, two Peacekeepers approached and took her by the arms. Her skin crawled under her clothes, Coal growled in her shirt, and her fingers curled to make fists. But she did not strike out, instead, she allowed herself to be marched on stage and left there. No one volunteered for the strange girl who preferred the company of animals over people. No one shed a tear for Persephone Jax, the first of six Tributes from District 10.