muddy waters [rosemary/sinead]

[kap]

not the last of my kind

- Rosemary Scarborough -

Sage. His name never really left her head, no matter how long it had really been. She thought about her dear cousin often, and his untimely demise. She thought about his love with Affron, and how it was cut short when death intervened. Some say it's Sage's fault— everything that happened to him, but Rosemary doesn't agree. She knows why he volunteered. He volunteered to bring back the money his family so desperately needed. He just so happened to be followed in by his boyfriend, and neither of them were able to make it back home alive.

It wasn't his fault Affron volunteered because he wanted to protect him. It was out of love, and no one could be at fault for love, if you asked Rosemary. Love was a very powerful thing. Not much could get in the way of it.

When Sinead Williams's name was called at the reaping, Rosemary wasn't even sure if there was a relation to Affron. Williams is such a common surname, it could've been someone completely different. After a moment, though, it hit Rosemary like a ton of bricks. As someone who was pretty involved in the community in District Twelve, Rosemary knew a lot of people's names and their relations to one another, and she knew she'd heard Sinead's name before in association with Affron.

This was his sister.

So, after the reaping, Rosemary built up the courage she knew that she needed, and went to the Justice Building to speak with Sinead. Even if Sinead didn't know who Rosemary was (which, to be totally honest, she probably didn't have a single clue), she felt the need to visit with her.

Entering the room, Rosemary approached Sinead with a gentle look of kindness in her eyes.

"Miss Williams," Rosemary started, not quite sure of whether to address Sinead by her first or last name, so deciding to go with the more respectful and perhaps safer route. "I'm Rosemary Scarborough. Sage Scarborough was my cousin— we were really close. I'm sure you know how he and Affron felt about each other."

She looked at the girl and tried to force herself to smile, but struggled. This wasn't a happy moment. It was a painful one.

"I just wanted to come here to tell you that I'll be rooting for you," she explained after a short pause. "I hope that's okay. I know you don't know me, so it probably doesn't mean much, but it felt important for me to come here."

Rosemary couldn't think very clearly right now, with what was going on, but she was trying her best to explain herself in a way that made sense. Sure, she and Sinead had never met, but this interaction felt important to her, so she was making a point to be here and have her words be meaningful.

It had been years since Rosemary or anyone aside from her sister that she was particularly close with had been in the reaping, so finding a connection like this was a bit jarring. Thirty now, she hadn't had to worry about it for quite a while. Reapings hadn't sparked emotions for her in years, but this time was different, she supposed.

525 words

template by punki of adoxography
lyrics: "Muddy Waters" by LP

[bailee]

sinead williams

Who was this?

When all she wanted was the comforting embrace of her mother, an unfamiliar face waltzed through the Justice Building doors. 

Where was her mother? Did she even bother coming? She knew of her father's absence at Affron's reaping, but her mother and father were at total opposites of the spectrum. Dahlia was everything as a parent that her father wasn't.

But maybe she didn't bother coming. Maybe she thought it was for Sinead's best interests that she didn't say goodbye. Maybe she didn't care enough. Maybe...

Her anxiety encroached towards her in the form of the unidentified woman. She nervously picked at the skin at her fingernails, pinching and pulling until they bled. She avoided eye contact with the woman, until she spoke up.

"Miss Williams," so formal, "I'm Rosemary Scarborough. Sage Scarborough was my cousin— we were really close. I'm sure you know how he and Affron felt about each other."

She didn't. Any stories she had heard of Sage and Affron's romance was nothing but just that - stories. She was far too young for Affron to confide in her - despite being the adorable little sister that was the subject of all of his love up until the games. She didn't even visit him at the Justice Building.

And of course, neither of them made it home to tell what had happened behind closed doors. For all she knew, it could have been a facade. Despite that, she liked to believe in the power of romance - Affron wouldn't have volunteered, otherwise, wouldn't have given his life to protect Sage.

The woman continued by telling her that she'd be rooting for her - but this was a statement she was not surprised by. If nothing else, District Twelve had comraderie - the shared experience of cheering for the underdogs, the poor kids who never had a chance anyway.

The selfish part of her wanted her to go away - the more time she spent here, the more she'd have to wait to see her mom (and her father, if he even bothered to show up). The nosy part of her wanted to pick Rosemary a part - was there an ulterior motive as to why she was here? What did she know about Affron? Was their story the romance the Capitol chalked it up to be or was it nothing but a ploy for their survival?

"It's really nice to meet you, Rosemary, I really appreciate your visit," she said, as she took her eyes off of her bleeding fingernails and met the other woman's. "I'm sure you're still hurting about the loss of Sage. I was young when it happened, but my heart still aches for Affron sometimes."

She pondered her next words for a second, before letting her curiousity take hold. "What was Sage like?" She blurted. "I mean... I never met him, I'm... If he was anything like Affron... I'm sure I would've loved him, too."

[kap]

not the last of my kind

- Rosemary Scarborough -

Parsley, Rosemary's cousin and Sage's sister who was a couple of years older than her, would've been proud of her for coming her to visit Sinead. Maybe she'd have to go visit her later today after she got done speaking with Sinead— before Sinead goes off to the Capitol. Before Sinead goes off to the training center, and worse, the Hunger Games.

The thing is, Rosemary wasn't here to make Parsley proud. She was here because she felt it was important. She wasn't even sure she'd mention it to Parsley. It just didn't seem right, mentioning something like this when praise could come out of it. Praise wasn't what Rosemary wanted. She just wanted to do what felt like the correct thing to do. That's why she was here.

Sinead was picking at her fingers, her nailbeds bloody and although Rosemary was concerned, she deemed it best not to mention it. The girl was probably nervous beyond her wit's end, which was totally and completely understandable in a situation such as this one. Nevertheless, the girl was extremely kind to Rosemary in return. She didn't yell at her to go away. She didn't ignore her. She didn't even act bothered by being visited by a stranger.

Instead, Sinead said it was nice to meet Rosemary, and that she appreciated her visit. At first, Rosemary wondered if the girl was actually doing okay on the inside, as she seemed so calm and composed on the outside, but decided it was best not to inquire.

The girl expressed how she felt about Affron's death before asking about Sage. She wanted to know what he was like. If Rosemary was to be completely honest, some days, she felt like he'd only been gone for a couple of weeks. She remembered him so vividly on others that it was like he'd left only yesterday. It'd been fourteen years now, though. He was gone, and Rosemary would never forget that smile of his.

Rosemary gave a small smile when she was asked about Sage.

"Sage... well, he was one of the sweetest people I ever had the chance to know. He protected the people he loved, and I swear, he loved Affron more than anything. Had he been able to, he would've given his life for Affron, I'm sure." That was how Rosemary started. Then, she delved in a bit more, hoping that it wasn't more than Sinead wanted to hear. "He also had the weirdest bad luck. He loved to explore and adventure around the District, but always seemed to get himself into some weird or unlucky situation. Honestly, I'm not sure how he was able to stay so positive when it seemed like everything was against him, but I suppose that's just how he was. He tried to look for the good things."

Rosemary caught herself looking down at her hands for a moment and fidgeting, but then looked back up to Sinead.

"I think you would've like him a lot. I'll be honest with you, though, his jokes never quite landed, and sometimes he might've needed a better filter for his words." Rosemary laughed a little bit when she said this.

"I'm sure you'll bring just as much pride to District Twelve as he did. I don't really know you, but I have trust in you. I hope that my words mean something, but if not, I understand."

Rosemary brought the gentle smile that she had on her face before right back. She wanted to let Sinead knew that she meant well. She wasn't here to try to make things harder. She wanted to make her feel a little better, if she could. She wanted to let her know that she had someone rooting for her.

614 words

template by punki of adoxography
lyrics: "Muddy Waters" by LP