.it all lead up to this [[Closed]]

[Matt]

Anya Marie Crider

Anya barely had any time to enjoy the magnificent view of the Capitol, as she was whisked away in an ambulance as soon as she stepped off of the train. "Wha-Where are we going? What's happening?" asked a very confused and disoriented Anya Crider. The nurse, a petite woman with chocolate colored skin and curly pink hair squealed in delight. "Oh, joyous day, child! You're going to have a baby!" she chimed in an eerily sing-songy voice. Anya gasped. She wasn't ready for this...her water hadn't even broken yet! There must have been some sort of mistake, she reckoned. The nurse spoke up once more. "Okay, dear, it's time for a little nap!" Before Anya could respond, a mask attached to a long tube was forced onto her face, and within moments she was asleep.

When her eyes fluttered awake, a crowd of uniformed doctors and nurses filled the room. She was clearly in a hospital; Anya recognized the familiar beds and gowns from visits to the large building in her own district. Anya could see the nurse from the ambulance, cheery and smiley as ever. "Oh, honey, you're awake! You just had surgery and gave birth to a healthy baby girl!". Eyes wide, Anya reached for her stomach, and felt the familiar flat belly she worked so hard to achieve. Her baby bump was no longer in existence, and a circular scar is all that remained of her pregnancy.

The baby was brought to her in a few minutes. Anya's eager arms extended to hold the sleeping infant. "Hi there...hi...I'm your mommy, I'm Anya. And I...I love you. I love you more than I thought I ever would." The words poured out in a rapid whisper, as if not to damage the child's ears. And the strange part was that it was all true. This child was no longer a bastard to Anya. It was now her daughter. She gave life to the beautiful creature, and there was no way she could ever hate it. Tears began to stream from Anya's eyes, a slight chuckle escaping her lips as the sleeping child grabbed for her nose.

And just like that, the beautiful moment was over. A nurse scooped up the child into her arms, saying "You have a busy day today, Anya." The new mother was speechless. "But...But I just got her!" The nurse's face stayed indifferent. "I'm sorry, Anya, but you are already behind schedule. Go get dressed, there is a hover car outside waiting to take you to the Training Center." At this point, Anya began to bawl uncontrollably. "You...you can't do this! She's my baby! You can't take my baby away from me!" But the nurse was long gone, leaving Anya alone in the room to cry.

The training center was considerably large, and Anya expected that she was the last of them to enter. She silently prayed that all eyes would not be on her, and her now reduced stomach. A few tears managed to escape her eyes still, even though she tried her absolute best to control them. She couldn't train, not in this state. So, she found a nice, quiet corner away from everyone else, and cried, and cried, and cried...

[sbeeg]

Being thrown into a room with a bunch of people you don't know, who are out to kill you in the long run isn't the most comfortable of situations. Seeing as I lack the talent of conversing easily- it was torture.

Walking into the room, the first thing that caught my attention was all the noise. People muttering, weapons being thrown and hitting their targets, sticks being rubbed together, and the echoing foot steps of other tributes across a flat, cold floor.

Taking a few more hesitant steps into the room, it was the first time in my life I felt completely blind. Back home I know where everything is- I can go by the ground beneath my feet and the scents in the air- here it's completely different. It smells of sweat and some kind of heavy fragrance used to cover up the body odor. Intertwined with those two is the tell tale whiff of smoke from a weak fire.

I don't know anyone, I don't know where anything is. I refuse to ask for help. No way am I going to lower myself to ask for something that... with time I could do on my own.

A few more steps to the side and I get the treat of having one of the gymnasium walls to anchor myself onto. Leaning against it, I take in all the sounds and smells of the gym. I slip my feet out of the shoes the high pitched female voice commanded I wear. Just then do I make out the sound of of someone, not to far from where I'm standing. Gasping? No... crying. Someone's crying? In front of other tributes?

Letting my curiosity get the best of me I slide down the wall until the noise is almost directly beside me.

"Everything, uh, okay?" never did have a way with words.

[/blockquote]

[Rosetta]

Lethe Turner

[/center]

“Nice, Lethe,” the instructor said, ignoring the bruise that she had inflicted upon his jaw. “Now, keep coming at me. Can you take me down? Remember the move I taught you?” Lethe nodded, deflecting his next blow with her raised hand. Then, she swung her leg out, hooked her foot behind his legs and forced him onto his rear. He fell with a thump, grinning broadly, not at all upset about being beat by a small, disproportionate girl. “Great work,” he told her, warmly. Of all the instructors in training, Lethe found him the nicest and found his station, hand-to-hand, the easiest for her. Thanking him, Lethe turned away to let another tribute get a try. But, that posed a problem. What should she do now?

Training was going a bit better than she hoped. She could at least do something, when everything else she tried, she failed at terribly. Already, she could feel their eyes on her. They were scrutinizing her, every last one of them. They were singling her out. She was the weak, pale one. Perhaps that was for the best. They’d leave her alone…or maybe they’d want to finish her off early, get her out of the way. Lethe knew she didn’t pose much of a threat. She was thin, almost sickly-looking with the red scars shining on her face. Lately, she’d grown to wringing her hands with stress, and today while in the shower, she’d looked down to see that several strands of her hay-colored hair had fallen out. If she found herself in combat with another tribute, which she will, she wasn’t sure how she was supposed to win. They could so easily overpower her…Lethe swallowed hard, her heart still racing from her fight with the instructor…so easily, she could fall and become just a face in the sky, a face only lingering for the moment, and then it would fade away and be gone…forever…

Lethe paused for a moment to regain her breath, trying to calm down, but the hairs on the back of her neck were standing up straight. She hunched over, clutching her stomach that felt slightly sick. Out of the corner of her eye, she stopped two girls in the corner of the room. Curiosity drew Lethe towards them, and she found herself right in front of them. One of the girls, a pretty blonde thing, was sitting on the ground, crying…tears streaked her face, and it startled Lethe to see her so. She knew training was stressful and she herself had cried, but something else was inflicting this girl…The other girl sat beside her, asking what was going on, and when Lethe got a good look of her, her heart skipped a beat. Her eyes were milky-white and she looked around, blankly, not at the other girl, but rather about the room, not exactly focusing. She was blind.

Instantly, Lethe felt a rush of happiness, simply because this girl was like her. Well, almost. Lethe had her own kind of blindness, not like this girl’s, but still, they both could most likely understand each other. This girl could probably understand the fear Lethe faced every single day, the hopelessness, the disorientation. They were alike in many ways.

Lethe cleared her throat, loudly, to let them both know she was there. “Hey, uhm, what’s wrong?” she asked, speaking to the crying girl, but really all she wanted to do was talk to the blind girl. “Do you need something?”[/size][/blockquote][/color]