it was ava in the orchard with a knife [open]

[Zen]

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[atrb=background,http://i454.photobucket.com/albums/qq261/maiwolf/avalbane2.png] "Why don't you go out and do something useful for a change?" Dad snapped at her, his voice rough with alcohol. It was strange to hear him like that. District Eleven rarely allowed such substances in the house, but Roam, her favorite older sister, had stolen an almost empty bottle of the stuff from the apothecary. It had been scrounged from another man to be thrown away later. How the other man had had it, she had no idea. And neither was she going to ask. The command was not given to her but instead to her older brother, Moroe. Moroe was moping around the small house doing little to help. Their dinner that night had been poor at best and he was still hungry. Tell the truth, she was hungry, too, but there could be nothing to be done about that. At the thought of more food, Avalbane's stomach growled, though she pushed her hand against it to quell the noise. No one took notice in the cramped confines of their house. Dad was still jammering away loudly, and she winced. As she winced, the needle she'd been using to mend Dad's torn trousers pricked into her finger. With a sharp gasp, the small girl pushed the pricked finger into her mouth and began to suck at it to rid the finger of blood and pain. But it wasn't a big prick and the action had startled her more than it had harmed her. She looked up with her deep blue eyes and caught Roam's eye. Roam sighed and nodded. With almost inhuman speed, the girl stood, donned a black cloak that was almost too large for her, threw on her shoes, and was out the door of their house. She didn't like it when Dad got angry or mad. In fact, she did whatever it took to get away from him. The curfew was not in effect yet, but the sky had gotten dark enough for her to look like a shadow. She raced to the outskirts of the orchard and took shelter under one of the trees. It was luck that where she sat she felt the lump of an apple underneath her. She didn't know the rules of eating an apple when it'd fell on the ground (or she had conveniently forgotten), so she placed it on her lips just to taste its skin and smell its freshness. But even though her hunger soared through the roof and her stomach growled without abandon now, she set the apple down on he ground beside her. If a Peacekeeper came now, she'd surely get lashings just for holding it.

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[lyss]

Ash Owens

Ash Owens picked up a rock and flung it as hard as she could. One of her brothers had ratted her out for oversleeping and her mother had screamed her head off at Ash.

"How many times do I have to tell you how lucky you are to be able to go to school to get it through your head?" her mother had screamed at her when she got home. "You are so ungrateful! That's it, young lady. Get out of my house and don't come back until you realize how lucky you are!"

Ash almost had wanted to scream that she would never admit she was lucky enough to go to school. Ash would rather work on her family's farm or even the district's field than be fed the garbage from her teachers. If her mother knew that, then Ash would've had to stay home, and the last thing Ash wanted was to be in the same building as her enraged mother and the god-awful brother that had told on her. She flung another rock and yelled out in frustration.

Ash had no idea how long she'd been walking, where she was, and if there was anybody nearby. It was getting pretty dark out, and she knew she would have to turn around soon so a Peacekeeper wouldn't catch her out after curfew. She suddenly stopped in her tracks and took in her surroundings. She saw an orchard to her left and began walking towards it, as hunger overtook her. As she got close to the orchard, she saw a figure, no, a shadow. She approached the shadow to see it was only a girl in a cloak. She looked like she was ten, but she could be older.

Ash saw the girl place an apple in front of her, and Ash's stomach furiously rumbled. She tried not to startle the girl and approached her left side. She knelt down so that she was the girl's height and cleared her throat.

"Um, hey. I don't think I know you, but I'm starving and I've kinda been kicked out of my house. Is that apple yours?" Ash asked, hoping she didn't sound rude.

[Zen]

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[atrb=background,http://i454.photobucket.com/albums/qq261/maiwolf/avalbane2.png] Avalbane listened to the mockingjays that alighted on the branches of the tree above her. There were other birds, too, some smaller and some larger, but the mockingjays held her attention by far. They sang the other bird's songs, added other songs to those previous songs, and generally made such a ruckus that it made her smile. But she loved the sweet, clear notes the birds put forth into the sky. It didn't take her long to realize that the birds were slowly quieting down. Through those small seconds of near-silence, Avalbane heard soft footsteps to her left. She didn't start. Sometimes if she stayed still, whomever was approaching her didn't see her. That's what the cloak was for. Still, Avalbane jumped in her cloak when she heard a feminine voice ask about the apple she'd only just been holding in her hand. Her eyes widened as she realized that she hadn't concealed herself enough. But the voice was kind and certainly didn't belong to a Peacekeeper. Mutely, she nodded, feeling the cloak flap up and down with her head as she did so. But her stomach cried in protest, wanting that mouth-watering apple just as much as she was sure the girl wanted it. Kicked out of her house? That wasn't so bad if there were other places to live. But even then, in District 11, those who were kicked out were rarely ever allowed into another's house because of the absolute rarity of food. If only Eleven wasn't so strict on food grown in the orchards and in the fields. Then the people would never starve and could work as much as they pleased. Because, though she didn't know about anyone else, Ava loved her job. Sure, she came home with blistered hands, sore legs, and an empty stomach, but the feeling of the wind in the trees, the feeling of weightlessness, of flying... that surmounted everything. But right now there was no feeling of flight, unless one accounted for the feeling of sudden fear that coursed through Avalbane and made her want to race away from this girl. But, despite her wants and desires, she stayed where she was. The girl was only hungry. As long as no Peacekeeper came by, Ava realized she'd be okay.

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[lyss]

Ash Owens

Ash saw the girl's head move up and down, but after that, she stayed still. Ash couldn't expect her to do much, after all, they had only just met. She wondered if she had ever seen the girl at school. She shook her head to herself. The girl must work in the fields. Lucky. Ash couldn't count how many times she had begged her mother to work in the fields or their family's farm.

Ash bit her lip and looked at the small girl. If she truly worked in the fields, than she would be more hungry and tired as Ash. Ash mentally sighed and told herself she could wait until she got back home. The girl should have her apple, not some stranger. Ash knew that it would be the right thing to do. Plus, if the two girls ever met again, Ash would be the stranger who took the girl's well-deserved apple.

"Ah, you can have it. I'll just go home and face my family. You deserve to have the apple," Ash finally blurted out and stood up to leave.

[Zen]

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[atrb=background,http://i454.photobucket.com/albums/qq261/maiwolf/avalbane2.png] If she was fearful of the girl when she first arrived, Avalbane was more fearful of the fact that she was now leaving. Over an apple. With a squeak of surprise, she picked up the apple and held it up to the girl despite the second rumbling of defiance in her stomach. No, she didn’t need any food. This was the same amount of food she got every day and she’d lived off of it until now. Who knows how long anyone’s going to live when the Games happen, though. And her thoughts were that those who were older than her should have more chances to live. She’d only have more chances to be picked than them, anyway. She pushed back the hood of her cloak, revealing her pale white skin and her frizzy hair (compliments to the cloak). She looked up at the other girl with sincerity in her wide-spaced blue eyes. “Take it.” She said, her voice low, and very nearly too whispered, to the girl. She didn’t need it. She had no need for the apple… there were others in the trees, though they were strictly off limits, and she’d find ways to drop them to the ground. No, no… she didn’t even need to get another one. This girl had run away from her home and Avalbane knew what it felt like to be alone, if only when her father was drunk. But she still had her siblings to take care of her. The way this girl spoke she didn’t have anyone else. The poor girl. She scooted over when she sat back down, a sort of invitation to let the girl sit down beside her. She didn’t know the girl’s name, didn’t care about it, and tried to quell the rising fear again. It was hard, since she was always so set on the flight part of fight or flight. She tried to spark more conversation with the girl, but she realized that once she’d glanced away in trying to move over, she realized that she couldn’t look back up. And her throat was constricted again. Darnit.

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[lyss]

Ash Owens

Ash watched silently as the girl pushed back the hood of her cloak, revealing pale skin that was rumored to once be Ash's color. She examined the girl's frizzy hair and Ash's lips turned upward into a small smile.

"Take it," the girl whispered to Ash.

Ash took the apple from the girl, Ash's soft hands brushing against the girl's rough hands. She was sure the girl worked in the fields now. Ash watched as the girl scooted over, inviting Ash to sit next to her. Ash bit her lip, deciding if she could trust the girl. Why couldn't she? The girl had trusted Ash, after all, or at least Ash believed she did.

Ash sat down next to the little girl, who seemed to be forever staring at the ground. They sat in there in silence for a few minutes, but Ash finally broke the silence.

"How old are you?" Ash asked in a hushed voice.