A Quick Errand [Dee]

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Dezzy Goldstone

[OOC] try and read my character bio before posting. Once you post, I'll read yours. hungergamesrpg.com/index.cgi?board=lowchar&action=display&thread=58304

Dezzy the loser. Dezzy the hated. Dezzy the loner. Dezzy the bruised. These are all the names Dezzy could think of for himself. "Can you walk down the street to Mrs, Abney's?" his mother asked, "I need you to collect the money she owes me for the house work I did."

Without hesitation he nodded and said, "Sure mom," He gave her a hug and kiss, and walked out the door. He tried to ignore the heat as he walked down to Mrs. Abney's house. He made it a quick trip in and out.

Once he made it back to the street he saw him. He reaches up and touched his scar. "You," he whispered. Out of fear he turned and ran the other direction towards town. When he got there he hid behind a store hoping no one would ever find him. Ever.

[ᕙʕ•ᴥ•ʔᕗ]

“Chloë, I need you to pick something up from Akis. Will you be okay?”

“Papa, Akis lives just down the street. If I start feeling any pain, I’ll run over and he’ll take care of me.”

With a little smile, Chloë left the house with a bounce in her step. She loved visiting her older brother who worked with leather as well, and she had never argued with her father when he sent her by herself. With all of the panic attacks she frequently had, her father had long ago mandated that she be with someone if she left the house. Recently, though, he had been more forgiving of the attacks and allowed her to venture out by herself—within reason, of course. Still, she could always detect a hint of worry in her father’s voice, even for a trip down the street.

Of course, she didn’t want to risk the busy streets at a time when everyone was milling around town, so she went down the alleyway which stretched parallel to the much bigger street on the other side. Usually, the alleys were empty save for the few strays that would stretch against her leg, but that day, she could see a crouching figure that reminded her of…her. The image was just like one of her when she was younger and suffering from a panic attack by herself. Even in her teen years, she was sometimes found leaning against the wall and holding herself, waiting for the attack to pass.

Slowly, not wanting to frighten the figure, she approached the boy. He didn’t look that much younger than her, but his figure was so small that she could have easily mistaken him to be a young boy instead of the teen that his face showed. Chloë had never seen him before, especially around town, which made her all the more curious as to why he was here and hiding. “Hey. Are…are you okay?” He looked like he was in a bad shape, but Chloë didn’t want to risk insulting him.

“Do you need to find a safe place? My brother’s shop is nearby and I’m sure he will let you stay there until you’re okay.” Not knowing what else to do, Chloë crouched down until she was supported by her toes and knees. She tried to look him in the face and gave him a small smile of reassurance. When she had her attacks, she was always soothed when she knew that there was a friendly person there with her. Just a reassurance was enough to remove some of the pain and calm her down.



[ OOC: Phew, sorry it's so short and all. Here is Chloë's bio! ]

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Dezzy Goldstone

A voice. I hear a voice, and it's speaking to me. It doesn't sound rude and mean. Did I fall asleep. I look at the owner of the voice. A girl. I pinch my thigh. No, not dreaming. I think of the boy I'm hiding from. Now the word safe makes the girls offer so tempting. I can't though. I can't trust her. I can't trust anyone.

"No. Get out of here. Get away from me!" I say harshly. The moment the words slip my mouth I regret them. In my mind I apologize and she takes me somewhere safe, but in reality I didn't say sorry. What is wrong with me? I complain because I have no one, but someone talks to me and I get flustered with them. It's that boy, he's messing with my mind.

In a calmer tone I speak again, "Is he still there?" I know she doesn't know who I'm talking about. I just want to give her a reason to talk to me again. I don't want to be alone. Not anymore. I can't stand it any longer. I hate having no one outside of the home to talk to. I need someone. I need a spark of unconditional love.

The thought of the word love sends shivers down my spine. Never have I expected anyone but my family, and Drew to love me. Never will anyone but them love me. I am alone. It's who I am. But it's not who I want to be.

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[ᕙʕ•ᴥ•ʔᕗ]

Chloë waited patiently as she saw him registering what was happening. He was looking at her, somewhat curiously, but she maintained her smile, not wanting to scare him. In the end, though, he scared her as he shouted at her. The strong outburst caused her to jump back into her own curled up position, her heart beating faster as she stared at him. No no, calm down, Chloë. There can’t be two people like this, not now, not now. Her efforts to calm herself down didn’t stop the pain from suddenly rising up and hitting her where she had been struck so often. She bit her tongue to prevent herself from crying out, but a weak sound managed to escape her in the form of a whimper.

Her hand over her mouth, she closed her eyes tightly, waiting for the pain to just go away. The boy asked her a question, but she couldn’t respond, not until she was certain that she wouldn’t exclaim from the pain. After a few minutes, she looked back at the boy and exhaled a rather shaky sigh. He was the one who needed help, not her. The problem was she didn’t know why. He had asked her something about “he”, but it could have been anyone. Think, Chloë. Just be reassuring.

“Sorry about that. Um, I haven’t seen anyone since I took this route. Is this someone we need to worry about?” Her eyes started to express concern, already leaving the panic behind. “I can help get you back home if that’s what you want. I’ll walk with you so you aren’t alone.” Those are the right words to say, right? Chloë offered her hand to the boy, hoping he was able to stand up. “I’m Chloë, by the way.” It didn’t make complete sense to give her name to a stranger who had just yelled at her—and drove her to a minor panic attack—but it was all a part of being reassuring. She had to prove to him that she really was just trying to help.

But Akis is probably waiting for me… Chloë looked in the direction of her brother’s shop, before returning her attention back to the boy. She knew her brother would have understood if she explained why she had taken so long to visit his shop; he was not unkind and he would have done the same thing in her position minus the hiccup. At that moment, she only hoped that whoever the boy was would eventually be okay. She had grown to manage her panic attacks so she was no longer crouching in the alleyway, shaking and waiting for the pain to pass. If she was able to progress, then surely the boy who was sitting in front of her could do the same.

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Dezzy Goldstone

She seems kind. I don't think she wants to hurt me. She doesn't know who I am. "I'm Chloë, by the way." Chloë. It's a beautiful name. I am afraid that if she hears my name, she may recognize it. She may figure out who I am, so I lie about it.

"I'm Jordan. Jordan Smitty." Do I feel bad for lying? Yes, of course I do. I hate to lie, but in some cases you have to. I think back to her offer to walk me home. Then back to the safe place. I decide on what I want to do. "Can you take me somewhere safe?" I know home is safe, but I won't have anyone to talk to if I'm home.

I can talk to my family about almost anything. Just not this. For some reason I feel like I can trust Chloë, though. I feel like I could pour my guts out, but I won't. It may be dangerous to let her know about who I really am. I want to trust her. I just can't trust her.

I feel my scar again and think back to the boy. No, not a boy. The monster. I will never forgive him for this. I hate him with a burning passion. A passion like the capitol has for the games. I desire this monsters death more than a tribute desires life. But right now, I must desire safety.

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[ᕙʕ•ᴥ•ʔᕗ]

Chloë noticed that he had paused before responding to her introduction, but he ended up giving her a name, one that she had never heard of. It made her curious as to why he had paused, but it wasn’t up to her to judge this boy. Perhaps he just needed to digest the whole situation before moving forward; if she was in his position, she was sure she would be doing the same thing. So she smiled when he introduced himself as Jordan Smitty. It was nice to be able to put a name to the face.

He asked her if she could take him somewhere safe and she nodded fervently. She made the assumption that he wasn’t asking if she could walk him home—he would have been more explicit about that, right? “Of course. Like I said, my brother owns a shop just a few stores down.” She looked at him, trying to see if he was okay or still a little shaken up. The pain in her gut had subsided to just small pangs that she easily ignored. It was only a matter of time before she fully recovered, and with the help of Akis’ special soup, everything was going to be okay.

Who had driven him to be like this? Was he from town or the Seam? Why had she never seen him before? All of those questions were floating through her mind, questions that she wanted to ask him, but as she watched him touch what looked like a scar, she knew it was too soon. She knew all too well about triggers and she was afraid that if she asked anymore questions, it would trigger some more yelling and Chloë didn’t need to excite her nerves. He appeared rather preoccupied, though, as he just stood there looking at nothing in particular. How was she supposed to grab his attention?

“Um, it’s right this way,” she gestured, hoping that he would be brought back to the alleyway instead of lost in his mind. “My brother makes this really good soup. I think you’ll like it.” She beamed at him, fully believing her words. Even if her brother wasn’t expecting guests, Chloë knew that there would be enough anyway. Jordan did look like he could use some food in his stomach, and her brother was never one to turn someone away just because they were an extra mouth. “Whenever you’re ready,” she threw in, being careful not to rush him.

[No tribute[Bray]]

Dezzy Goldstone

I can finally conclude that this girl is just trying to help. Also, she has no idea who I am. I mean, she offered me food. No one in District Twelve offers food to someone they hate. Some barely offer it to their children. I know I shouldn't go with her, and I should go home to my family, but something is telling me to follow her.

"I'd be glad to go with you," I tell her something true for once. I stand up and dust as much dirt off me as possible. I wish I wouldn't have lied to her now. I should have told her my real name. I can't now, she'll never trust me enough to take me to the safe place. I'm still shocked at the fact that there's a safe place in District Twelve. Safe.

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(OOC)I told you it would be short. I'll try to make it longer next time...I just don't know how much time I'll have.

[ᕙʕ•ᴥ•ʔᕗ]

It made her nervous just waiting for a response, because she wasn’t sure if he trusted her yet. Also, she had no idea why he had shouted in the first place—was it a chronic incident or was he just so unsettled at the time—and she didn’t know if it would happen again. So a wave of relief washed over her when he accepted her offer without any complaint. He even seemed calmed down enough to stand up on his own which made Chloë smile. It was nice to see that the scared boy was alright after all. “Great! Follow me, Jordan.”

Chloë walked to her brother’s store, occasionally looking back to make sure that she hadn’t lost Jordan; it would have been bad if she had promised him safety and yet managed to lose him in the streets. It was a very short walk—no more than three stores down—and Chloë opened the side door so that she could avoid all of the shouting customers. She gestured at Jordan to go through the side door as well, placing a finger on her lips to tell him that he should be quiet. The door wasn’t very loud, but any abrupt noise would have alerted the customers that someone was “sneaking around”. She whispered, “There’s a table in the back room, we’ll just sit there until Akis comes in.”

She could already smell the broth simmering from the back room, and her nose led the way as she tiptoed through the small hallway that separated the back room from the actual store. A few paces later, they were at the sliding door which she slid to the side and entered into the back room. Her brother was still dealing with the customers at the front part so it was just them and the soup.

[No tribute[Bray]]

Dezzy Goldstone

The smell is overwhelming. I don't know what is producing the fine odor but I want some. I want all of it. I close my eyes and open my mouth and try to taste the fumes. My chin is shaky. I begin to feel weak and overpowered. "What's that smell?" is all I can manage.

I grasp the table that I'm sitting at. It's hard and cold. My fingers start feeling weak, and I have to let go. I take a deep breath and slowly begin to calm down. I open my eyes again. I don't know if the room is dark, or my brain is playing tricks on me. I am so stressed out.

I begin clawing my thumb, trying to relieve the stress. It works, but my thumb starts to bleed a little. I try my best to hide it from Chloë. I think I succeeded, I'm not sure. I move on to biting my lip. I force myself to stop. I am slowly killing myself.

[ᕙʕ•ᴥ•ʔᕗ]

She couldn’t help but let out a chuckle as Jordan asked about the smell. It didn’t sound like he didn’t like the smell from the tone of his voice; rather, it sounded curious and interested in knowing more. Chloë had to admit that the first time she smelled the broth, she had questioned her brother the ingredients, but he would never reveal them to her. “It’s the broth. I would give some to you already, but Akis doesn’t like it when I interfere with his cooking.” She turned to Jordan to give him a small smile, hoping it would calm him down, but it seemed that he was already doing his own thing.

She couldn’t see what exactly what he was doing, but she noticed some small movements with his hands. Was he cold? Or was he just nervous? “Do you need a jacket or something?” She didn’t think it was that cold in the room, but maybe he was going into shock. If that was the case, Chloë was going to have to confront her fear and run into the front room to get her brother’s attention. Oh, I really hope he’s okay. All those customers are just so loud and I don’t want to have to talk to them. “Don’t worry, he’ll be here soon.” Was she saying that to comfort him or herself?

Finally, a scuffle of feet alerted Chloë that her brother had entered the room, followed by an introduction of light. “You didn’t think to turn the light on? C’mon, Chloë, the light’s not going to alert my customers that you’re here. Oh, and who’s this?” She watched as her brother walked over to Jordan and examined him. “This is Jordan, Akis. He was in some incident and he just needs a safe place to stay for a bit. I thought it would be okay with you.” Her brother waved it off as if having another person there was no burden. He then walked over to the stove and doled out three bowls of soup, setting one in front of Chloë and one in front of Jordan. “Of course not. Eat up.”

Chloë looked at Jordan and nodded at him, encouraging him to eat. Poor kid looked like he needed it. “Oh, Akis, Father sent me here to pick something up. Do you know what he wants?” She watched her brother run a hand through his hair as he thought thoroughly. Uh oh, I really hope he knows because I don’t… Relief coursed through her body as she saw his eyes light up with recognition. “Ah, yeah, I’ll be back. Keeping eating, it might take some time.” And abruptly he left, leaving Chloë with just Jordan again. She couldn’t tell if he was feeling much better; she only hoped that he was taking the whole thing okay. After all, he was expecting a safe place.



{OOC: clarification -- thinking is in italics, NPC talking is italics with quotation marks}

[No tribute[Bray]]

Dezzy Goldstone

Akis came in, and he went out. He made me soup, and talked to me, but I didn't talk back. I just didn't feel I should. The soup burns in my mouth. I can feel the hunger pains in my stomach slowly vanishing. I begin to feel bad because my siblings don't get this. I really should go home.

I choose not to say anything to Chloe right now. I'm going to let her start the conversation. I need a reason to stay. I know I'm going to be in trouble, but I don't care. This may be a lot of help for me. I may finally get a friend. Y'know, other than Drew.

[ᕙʕ•ᴥ•ʔᕗ]

She couldn’t help but notice how quiet he was during the whole exchange; had she or Akis frightened him at some point? Chloë watched him spoon the broth into his mouth, not even taking the time to pause to let it cool on the spoon. While she, herself, didn’t have the opportunity to eat more than twice a day, she had never imagined that she could be so lucky to have some of the broth that Akis would brew whenever she was there. And yet, as she watched Jordan quickly finish the broth, she realized how good she had it for a resident of District 12. Yes, she knew what hunger was, but not like Jordan did.

“Um, I don’t really recognize you. What year are you in school?” Chloë had never really paid attention to her classmates, but she was very certain that Jordan wasn’t in her class; she would have at least recognized the name, if not the face. “And do you have to be anywhere else? I don’t want someone to get worried about you.” She knew her father was always worried whenever she stepped out the door. It was hard to imagine that Jordan didn’t have a family who was also waiting for him—unless he didn’t have parents. Chloë immediately started turning red from the thought that she could have offended him.



{OOC: short, not a lot of muse. Sorry =/}

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Dezzy Goldstone

I just ignore her questions. Eventually she'll realize that I don't wish to answer her questions. I don't want to be silent, though. Maybe I can change the subject. I shake as a cold chill comes over my body. I finish the food off and stare at it as if more will just appear. I refuse to ask for more. If she offers then I may.

"Did you know either of our tributes this year?" I has to change the subject to something. I begin to think of the games as I stare almost seductively at my empty bowl. We have had quite a few victors in the past few years. I feel my stomach growl. I hope to ripred that it wasn't audible. If she continues to feed me, I will feel like I have to feed her, which I will never be able to do. I can't afford to. Even if I went to the games, I wouldn't survive the bloodbath. My family will probably die off soon. I'm not having kids.

OOC-I kind of just rambled a lot. I don't think it was a bad post though. Just short.

[ᕙʕ•ᴥ•ʔᕗ]

Chloë’s face contorted into a look of concern and incomplete satisfaction as he didn’t answer her questions at all. While she understood his reluctance, she really was trying to make the environment more comfortable for him. If he didn’t want to answer, though, she wouldn’t pressure him to say anything. Instead, he directed the conversation towards the Games by asking her if she knew any of the tributes which made her pause and think. Both of the tributes were younger than her by just a year, but she had never met them before under any circumstance—or at least she didn’t recognize their names or faces on the day of the reaping.

“No, I haven’t met either of them before. They are a year younger than me, and I guess circumstance wasn’t on my side.” Despite the fact that they were only one year younger, Chloë felt a little sad at the thought of them in the arena. She tried to avoid watching the Games as much as possible, even the years when District 12 had victors. Those were good years when food was welcomed by the district, but they were still the poorest district of Panem and a years’ supply of food did almost nothing for them. “It would be nice if one of them could make it home, though.”

She looked back at Jordan to see his face masked with concentration. What was there to be so focused about? “Are you okay?”

[No tribute[Bray]]

Dezzy Goldstone

"Are you okay?" she asks me. I almost didn't hear because i was trying to figure out myself if I knew either of the tributes. I don't think I do. But it's not me knowing them that I worry about. I worry about if they know me. And I hope to ripred that they don't. I conjure up a reply to the question. She's already been waiting on me too long.

"Yeah, I'm okay. I'm just-just, I-I'm not okay. Not at all. I am, I'm a liar. I never though of myself this way until I lied to you. I don't know you, but I already care about you. It might be because there's not many people I love, and since you showed love to me, I grew love for you. Not like an attraction, but a caring love. My name's not Jordan. I'm Dezzy Goldstone. I'm seventeen. And, I'm a loser. And, most everybody hates me."

I finish spilling my guts out, just as the first tear falls.

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OOC-A lot of muse just randomly punched me in the face XD