the park bench [Zoe]

[Wonder]

Mathias Gammeth

Living [F5F2EF]
Speaking [97D4D0]
Other People Speaking [D9FFA9]
Deep Thought [F0D99E]
Edrys [FCBBEB]

[/size]

Mat twitched as a snowflake parked itself upon his nose unexpectedly, quickly turning into a small drop of water. He was positively delighted with the weather, if there was one season that Mat preferred over all the rest, it was winter. The paper factory days were shorter and filled with less work because they had to dry the wood before processing it. Often, getting fed up, the manager would send the workers home early. The Peacekeepers were never content with the situation, but there was nothing they could do if the wood wasn’t ready for the workers.

Today had been one of the days where they let everyone out early and Mat was ecstatic! Being let off work early meant more time with Edrys, they’d been planning to have an outing that afternoon anyway, but now it meant that Mat had an hour more to spend with his beloved. Trudging home, he walked with a skip in his step that left weird, twisted footprints in the snow behind him. They looked inhuman. It was funny, to him at least, how people could leave their mark on the world so easily in the colder months. It was just another reason to love the snow.

Upon arriving at his old tattered home, Mat looked up to see the wavy blonde hair of Edrys in his bedroom window. The whole house was worn down, but still liveable. Edrys had always said that it gave the whole place a lot of character, something that her house lacked. Mat disagreed, it wasn’t a castle, it wasn’t a place that a princess would be able to live in. He wanted to give Edrys one of those castles in story books to live in, towers and all.

Mat could see that she was perched against the wall, eyes closed, clearly awaiting his return from work. Smiling, he ran into the house and straight past his parents who sat in the kitchen, they were used to his outlandish behaviour by now. There was no force in the world that could keep Mat away from Edrys. Bursting into the room, she seemed to jump out of her skin, he apologized immediately, not wanting her to be upset. She curled his thin lips up into a smile as her blue eyes stared deep in to his dark eyes, she looked beautiful as always. He fought off the urge to smother her in his arms, as he loved her so much. Instead he just smiled. “What would you like to do today?” He asked her as she just sat and smiled, she did this often. It seemed as though Edrys was always treading carefully on her words, scared to admit something she didn’t want to even though Mathias reminded her constantly that she could trust him.

“Since you’re already dressed for the occasion.” She pointed out in a teasing manner. ”Let’s go outside. How about the park?” Mat turned red in the face upon realizing that out of his excitement of seeing Edrys, he’d forgotten to take off his winter clothes. He tried to hide his redness from Edrys, but she never missed anything. “Oh Mathias, I was just picking on you, no need to worry.” His name rolling off of her tongue was all he needed to snap him back to normal. The word sounded so sweet on her tongue, like a thousand angels singing. There was nothing he loved more than hearing her say it.

It wasn’t often that Edrys liked going outdoors, even though Mat loved going outside. The seasons are where Edrys and Mathias seemed to differ. His favourite season of all was winter. Everything that came along with it was his favourite, snow angels, snowball fights, just the snow in general. Winter was Edrys’s least favourite season. She never played with him in the snow as kids, and still refused to have a childhood nostalgic-esque snowball fight.

“I’m going to the park with Edrys.” Mat announced loud enough for his parents to hear. They still weren’t the biggest fans of her, but they loved to know where he was regardless. The two rushed out the door, Edrys who had rushed out of his bedroom first, took the time to put her winter gear on. He hadn’t seen her bright pink coat when he got home, but he hadn’t really looked. The two walked side by side, not touching, as they walked to the park. Vague small talk occurred, asking each other about their days, but nothing to interesting. Mat shivered as a snowflake unexpectedly landed and melted on his nose. It was becoming colder, yet Edrys always seemed warm, never got hit by snow or rain, she was lucky that way. He never really understood.

Mat skipped a little bit again, his light blue puffy winter coat standing out like a sore thumb in public. Edrys had insisted on getting the contrasting coats, “It’ll be funny.”She had insisted. They were about the ugliest coats he’d ever seen, but neither of them really had any sense of fashion whatsoever, so to them, it didn’t matter how ugly they looked. Mathias enjoyed skipping through the snow. Edrys would always giggle a little bit at his overall stupidity. Her giggle made him sigh. Not in a frustrated way, no no no, he loved her too much to ever sigh like that. It was more in a ‘I’m madly in love with you kind of matter.’

I am madly in love with her.

The best part of his hops, as always, were the inhuman footprints, he always glanced back at them. Edrys didn’t understand his obsession with the little markings, but it was Mathias’ only non-destructive way to leave a mark on the planet. “Even though it’ll melt away?” She’d always asked him. Edrys never made bizarre footprints with him, she always treaded so lightly that her boots didn’t pierce the snow. Mathias never found it weird how her prints never showed up in the snow, always too distracted by his own. He was too naive to realize it.

They walked around the park a little bit, Mathias always got weird looks when he was talking to Edrys. Everyone in town seemed to think Edrys was a thing to avoid. This upset Mathias so much that he could feel the little monster that resided in his belly trying to escape. Firstly, Edrys wasn’t a thing, she was a person. A beautiful person at that. Her beautiful wavy blonde hair bobbing against her coat, the pinkness of the coat allowing the blonde to come out even more. Secondly, it wasn’t Edrys’ fault her father was a drunk. They looked at her like she was a curse. It never seemed to bother her as much as it bothered Mat. “You are so magnificent and incredible, don’t listen to them.” He repeated until she nodded and smiled at him. Mathias took that as a thumbs up that she’d be OK. She’d always be OK if he was by her side.

“Do you mind if we sit down?” She asked. Edrys was looking awfully weary, she didn’t get much exercise. She was always bundled up in her room, or his. Mathias led her across the path on to the wooden park bench. He fell next to her on the uncomfortable seating are and just stared, she made no attempt at conversation and neither did he.

[/justify][/size]

[✨ zozo.]

jesse owens district seven
f a m i l y d u t y h o n o r

describing [6d526f] thinking [ece4ed] talking [aaaaaa]
b i o g r a p h y

Snow. It shouldn't really surprise Jesse, who squinted as he watched the little flakes of ice fall from the sky, but every time he woke to the District covered in a soft blanket of white it caught him pleasantly off-guard. Something about the simplistic beauty captured Jesse's attention, the tops of green trees he'd lumber for a living iced like pastries in a bakery shelf. Smiling to his self as he looked out of his bedroom window, huddled in the warmth of indoors, Jesse admired the view. Snow days meant days off helping his Dad out – as the wood needed to be dry before cutting and transporting, and their old truck could only plough through so much snow at once, which created a challenging job in itself when stuck – so Jesse was left to himself for today to avoid unnecessary complications.

Feet itching to go out and do something, Jesse hopped up from the window and tiptoed through the old, empty house – dodging a few loose floorboards here and there, locations etched into his memory. District 7 was no glamorised district, and it showed in the aged, worn houses with missing oddities like the Owens’s place. House built for two, it was small, but cozy – just enough room for Jesse and his Dad, no more, no less – and that was just the way Jesse liked it. He hated the way people would question him about his absent mother, as if he missed her. But how can you miss something you never had? To Jesse, living with just himself and his father was completely normal. He really did have no answer to the ‘Do you ever wish you had both parents with you?’ or the oh-so-typical ‘Is it weird?’ The ignorance and incapability of people to accept such a simple answer baffled and annoyed Jesse. Many were just looking for a pity party – and Jesse Owens was certainly not going to become one of those.

As he stepped out through the front door of his house – now laden in warm clothes and donning snow boots – Jesse shut the locked door behind him and pocketed his key. Breathing in the smell of fresh, icy air, he sighed to himself and began to trudge through the snow-laden paths and roads, leaving nothing but deep footsteps in his tracks. Hands buried deep in jacket pockets to keep warm; content, he plodded along as more flakes landed on his clothes and nestled in his brown hair. A light wind whipped past his body, attempting to sneak through cracks and chill his skin, but it found no such luck, as Jesse’s clothes were expertly zipped and button up tightly so as to contain his body heat. The last thing he needed was to freeze to death out here in the snow – a beautiful but deadly killer to all those unfortunate enough to not wrap up before greeting the cold weather.

Mind wandering along with the time, Jesse felt boredom creep up on him, feeling the need to find some company. Usually he kept to himself, but it was all well and good to walk for a while before he began to slip into a continuous, uneventful lull. Besides, he could either be bored at home with no-one around, or find someone to converse with out here. Denoting the second choice as his preference, his eyes began to travel around his surroundings – pathways leading to a park – trying to spot any familiar faces from school or town. After a quick scan of the area and only finding children with parents dashing around in the snow, he looked over toward the parks instead, spotting a boy, around his age, perched on a park bench.

As Jesse made a start towards the figure to see if he could spot their face – perhaps someone he knew – he spied their identity. Although he had never officially met the boy before, Jesse had heard whispers amongst his peers and around about the town. Apparently, the boy was a little... kooky, to put it lightly, and people generally avoided him. Somehow Jesse had managed to fit in with the groups of teenagers at school, being a well-liked guy by default, but still felt a tad sorry for the guy. Jesse being Jesse made the decision to go and talk to him, at least strike up a conversation. He believed that everyone deserved a chance to prove themselves, and was not one to leave anyone out or deliberately ignore.

With a friendly smile and spring to his step, Jesse approached the boy with an amenable expression. “Thought you could do with some company, seeing as you’re all alone out here”

[/b] Jesse said light-heartedly.

loyal optimistic easy-going nervous dependable

[/size][/blockquote][/justify]

[Wonder]

Mathias Gammeth

Living [F5F2EF]
Speaking [97D4D0]
Other People Speaking [D9FFA9]
Deep Thought [F0D99E]
Edrys [FCBBEB]

[/size]

There was a peace in being with Edrys. She wasn’t too big of a fan of small talk so often they’d just sit. There was absolutely nothing wrong with sitting. But most of his classmates would find it just awkward, sitting quietly that is. Otherwise, Mat is pretty sure that his classmates would be fine with him shutting up for good. Every word that came out of his mouth was usually welcomed by a sea of scowls, especially when taking about Edrys. They had such hatred towards him and her that it was scary. Mat never actually understood where it festered from. How could people have such hatred in their
hearts? Especially of someone who was so nice.

Edrys was very quiet, it was almost as if she were upset, Mat couldn’t even bear the thought. He was about to reach out and touch her when another boy sat down. Mat knew the dark haired boy, but only from seeing him in the halls. It was easy to say he was a part of the group that talked about Edrys and him behind their backs because everyone in school did that. Though, he’d never caught this boy doing it in particular, which was odd. Perhaps he was nice? The idea seemed a little bizarre really. Everyone Mat had ever experienced lately in District 7 whispered and snickered as he walked by.

Even though he didn’t seem to be hurting anyone, Mat still tensed up as he sat next to him. The peaceful moment had completely been snapped in half. He became suddenly aware of the hard wooden bench beneath him and his feet fell flat on the ground. He felt very heavy, and all warmth of the moment dropped making him really finally realize how cold it’d become. It was very weird how much he got caught up in his own little world when he was with Edrys. Their own little personal bubble. It felt almost like an insult that this boy had come along and popped it, but he wouldn’t complain.

“Thought you could do with some company, seeing as you’re all alone out here.” Company. That was nice. But Mat already had company, Edrys. That’s all he’d ever need. She had awoken and sat up on the bench. Clearly, she was trying to process the boy to see whether he was good or not, he didn’t seem to notice though. Nobody did. His action was nice enough, to come and talk to him, but it was rude to ignore Edrys. Perhaps he’d been told to ignore Edrys. It seemed to be a game that everyone liked to play, even his parents. She was a curse to everybody else, so they ignored her. It was cruel and unusual to just pretend she was invisible.

Mat sat up on the bench, back no longer touching the seat. He didn’t want to be very mean to the boy who seemed to be quite nice, perhaps he just wanted to bring Mathias in to his group of friends. But without Edrys. Everyone always wanted him to leave Edrys. He clasped his hands together and took in a deep breath. Mat didn’t like confrontation but he really needed to tell the boy that he wasn’t interested. As he was about to speak up, he hesitated as Edrys cleared her throat. He looked back to her as she shook her head, curls bobbing. “Leave it.” She insisted with a smile, this never bugged her as much as it bugged him. Mat only smiled back if she didn’t want him to say anything, he wouldn’t.

“I’m going to go on a little walk myself, have fun.” She jumped off the bench and smiled reassuringly, saying ‘it’ll be ok’ with just her smiled. She waved to him, and the boy and walked away. Her light steps couldn’t be heard against the crunchy snow, and again she left no footprints. Mathias always found that so weird. He waved after her as she walked away.

“Alone, now, I suppose.” Each word came with a pause in between, he never really talked to anyone besides Edrys. Normally, their conversations flowed so smoothly but he was used to talking to her, about everything. Years of social isolation had made him extremely nervous when talking to people who weren’t Edrys or his parents. He longed after her now, wishing he hadn’t left. She seemed to have disappeared already through the park so Mat just followed the path where she left with his dark eyes, hoping to catch one more glimpse of her.

It was alright that she left, he supposed. Mathias guessed that she wanted him to branch out more, to get new friends, which wasn’t something he necessarily wanted. He turned back to the boy and gave a toothy grin. He’d seen people do that quite often in the halls. It was a nice thing to do to say hello, he’d assumed. “I’m Mathias.” He stuck out his hand right near the boy, he’d been taught that people typically shake hands. The whole situation felt weird and out of place for him.

I just want her.

He wouldn’t let the boy slip away though. This was his first interaction with someone in a while, though it’d only been a sentence, it was progress. Progress was always great. Working towards a goal. Edrys told him that he needed a little more ambition, he couldn’t go through life being nothing in a paper factory. He needed to support her. Get her that great big castle, with the towers. To do that, he needed to learn how to advance in the world. Social interaction was the first step. So he turned, and smiled, he would smile until his face felt like it was going to fell off. And he’d keep smiling after that if one day he could get Edrys that great big castle.

[/size][/justify][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[✨ zozo.]

jesse owens district seven
f a m i l y d u t y h o n o r

The moment the boy in front of Jesse had opened his mouth, Jesse realised where all the rumours and hushed whispers came from. He wasn't one to judge - but it was a little difficult not to. “Alone, now, I suppose.” the boy mumbled slowly, and Jesse's eyes darted around the surroundings, searching for any sign of someone being here. Perhaps a friend had left only moments before Jesse arrived - but there was no trace of life around. No footprints, nothing.

The next moments passed quickly, and again, the boy surprised Jesse by snapping out of his odd state to look up at him, smiling, an arm extended out in front of him. “I’m Mathias.” he greeted, introducing himself. Instinctively, Jesse dug up his hand from he warmth of his jacket pocket and returned the gesture, shaking the boy's. "Jesse" he replied simply with a smile. He was doing a lot of that lately, introducing himself. He'd grown a little tiresome of his father's slight nagging to go out and meet other kids. Get some other friends, he'd suggest. You can't keep avoiding other people your own age just coz he's gone.

Bitterly shoving his thoughts out of his head, Jesse retracted his hand and returned it to his pocket. It's not like he didn't have friends - he talked to the kids at school, right? When he went, that is. Jesse usually got along with everyone, if not for a brief, slightly-awkward introduction, but that was just the way he worked. "Mind if I sit down?" he asked, politeness subconsciously fed into him with his baby food. He's always been polite and well-mannered, always asking to do things. Get permission to go over there, or pick up that, or in this case, sit here. It was just his way - and he'd try his best to do his Dad proud and make some more friends - real friends.

It shouldn't be too hard, right?

loyal optimistic easy-going nervous dependable

[/blockquote][/justify]

[Wonder]

Mathias Gammeth

Living [F5F2EF]
Speaking [97D4D0]
Other People Speaking [D9FFA9]
Deep Thought [F0D99E]
Edrys [FCBBEB]

[/size]

Mathias still helplessly stared at that one spot where he’d seen Edrys disappear to. He’d shaken the boys hand, he’d been friendly, why hadn’t she returned? Did she leave for good again? Mathias wouldn’t be able to handle that at all. He still remembered the day that she had once left.

They’d been sitting in his room as per usual, Edrys in her corner, huddled up in a ball. Her slender around wrapped themselves around her legs as she rested her tired head on her knees, grateful for some rest. She didn’t have to work, but at home she would stay awake all night trying to avoid her father. Mat had never spotted a single scar on her, but why would she lie? Didn’t emotional scars burn deeper though? He sat back on his bed and gazed at the roof. It was that popcorn type ceiling, he never had understood the purpose of why that was there, but then again, he’d never bothered to ask. Upon further thought, he realized he wasn’t even all that interested.

“I think you should trash the paper factory.” It came bluntly and out of the blue, the tired little girl suddenly wasn’t so curled up. She had spread her legs out and now leaned back against the wall. It seemed like the idea had excited her quite a bit. Edrys smiled wildly, as if trashing the factory would send her father straight down to hell. But he’d had enough, Mat didn’t want to do this anymore. He didn’t want to destroy, he didn’t want to get in to trouble. Edrys was so enthused by the idea. “Do it.” She hissed at him, it was a common occurrence. When she got excited about things like this she would hiss at him until he agreed.

This time was different though, Mathias refused to agree. I want to be free, I want to fly like the birds.
The ceiling seemed to be crashing down piece by piece as Edrys stepped to her feet. She wasn’t used to his refusal, usually it only took a few tries and he would comply. Mat got to his feet as she did and almost fell right back down from the glare in her eyes. Her wild blue eyes had turned in to a dulled sadness that he couldn’t quite describe. “So you refuse?”

Mat bit his lip until it bled. He knew if he continued the conversation, she would eventually make him cave in. He almost passed out as he felt the thick red liquid start to fall on to his awaiting tongue. It stung like crazy, so all Mat did was nod his head. No, he wasn’t going to do, and she, Edrys, couldn’t do anything about it. That’s when she left him: alone and with a bleeding lip. Edrys walked out the door without a sound, he didn’t hear his front door click as she left. She had disappeared. His lip healed eventually, but she didn’t return to him.

He had looked all over, she didn’t show up at school. Mat had never been to her house out of fear of her father and what he might do. Mat spent nights and nights staring at his door. The one she’d walked out of a couple of weeks prior. His cheeks barely dried themselves from the tears that liked to race down his face. He just stared. The doorway almost held a curse to it, if he took his eyes off of it, he’d had to accept that she was gone. And she wasn’t, she’d never leave him. That, Edrys had promised him.

Here, on the cold park bench, Mathias could feel the same longing feeling. He could still see the spot on the horizon of the park in which she’d walked off. He could feel his anxiety level rising after each second passed and she didn’t return. Sweat started forming on his skin underneath his jacket even though it was quite cold. “Jesse.” The boy smiled back to him, Mat had almost entirely forgotten about him. How long had he been standing there? How long since he had introduced himself? It must have been an hour at least. He glanced quickly back to the spot afraid that he’d missed her approaching. He hadn’t.

"Mind if I sit down?" Mathias suddenly felt bad. Not only because Edrys, but because he was ignoring this Jesse guy. He wasn’t mean. Sure, he’d ignored Edrys when he’d arrived but he hadn’t done anything that had been particularly rude. Jesse hadn’t snickered, sneered, walked away. That was important, Mat thought, he hadn’t walked away. It took him a minute to process the question, which might have seemed like such an awkward thing.

He looked back to the spot, the one Edrys had walked away on. “Have fun.” The words dwindled in his mind, what had she meant? Did she actually want him to have fun? Was that sarcastic? He could never tell with girls they were so confusing. They’d say one thing and mean another. Edrys was really guilty of this. Often, she left Mat in such a confused state that he didn’t know how to respond. Would he go left or right if she told him to go left? If he did go left would she antagonize him for doing exactly as she’d told him.

Mat sighed, maybe he should take a chance. He looked at the spot once more. The snow was all crunched down from numerous people walking across it, though Edrys’s footsteps were nowhere to be seen, probably blended into the many that had come before. The bare trees moved ever so slightly from the cold winter wind. Still, she was nowhere to be seen. So he gave up, simple as that. It had been so simple, he just looked away.
Will it always be that simple?

Mathias realized that Jesse was still standing waiting patiently for a response. “Yes, you may sit.” He patted the spot next to him gently, indicating for him to sit there. He’d seen others do it before, it seemed friendly. Edrys usually sat a couple feet away. But Edrys, was here. Edrys wasn’t here. Mat stopped sweating as he had been initially, and sat up straight. He’d be strong. He would die for her, but he wouldn’t live for her. He smiled again to Jesse, trying always to be amiable.

“I don’t think we’ve met, actually, I mean, I don’t –“ Mat was stumbling over his words, trying to make a sentence he was happy with. The thing with talking to people that weren’t Edrys was that they were always forming hidden opinions. They’d never tell him what they truly thought of them. But, that was all the reason to be better, to be more confident. Increasing his fortitude, he arranged himself on the bench to become more comfortable. Taking a deep breath, he reassured himself mentally that he could do this. “I don’t think we’ve actually met, ever.” He spat out almost forcefully, but not too over the top. He didn’t want to seem too weird now. But didn’t he always seem weird?

[✨ zozo.]

jesse owens district seven
f a m i l y d u t y h o n o r

Maybe Jesse'd scared this guy off. Maybe he was the one acting weird. This whole 'making new friends' thing was tougher than he'd thought, and was a little rusty on the conversation skills. Add in a dash of awkward and a sprinkle of shyness, and he really was a mess when it came to friends. Yeah, he had some at school - when he attend, that is - as he had a subconscious way of being roped into groups of teens his age with a simple smile. The trouble was was getting close to people.

Because no-one could replace him, ever,

[/i] and he would not let him go.[/i] The traumatising event of having to watch his best friend fight to his death in the Games left Jesse distraught. He would not talk to anyone, he would not see anyone, he would not hear anyone. For so long, he'd shut himself away and refused to communicate with anyone but his father, and even that was brief enough in itself. Gradually, though, the old Jesse began to show his face every now and again - until he'd reached the point where he could say hi to his old classmates in the street and face talking to people. Small talk, but it was an improvement. But he'd never let go. Not really. [/color]Gradually, after wanting to please his Dad, he'd made the effort to try and make friends again. Real friends. Hang out, yes - get to really know him, and that's when he began to close up again. Sure, he could be nice enough to get along for a few sentences, as he tried to be polite to everyone, but other than that he was just plain nervous. Perhaps he should just lea-

“Yes, you may sit” the boy replied, patting the seat next to him, to Jesse's pleasant surprise. A grin perking on his face, he slid onto the empty space on the bench and adjusted his seat until he was comfortable, lounging against the wooden backing. His hands were still tucked in his jacket to hide from the cold, but he felt quite content sitting there. Often, company made him feel uneasy, but Jesse was grateful in knowing that he wasn't the only one at a loss for conversation starters.

“I don’t think we’ve met, actually, I mean, I don’t –” the boy fumbled, and Jesse felt complete sympathy for him. Jesse wasn't often at the receiving end of cringe-worthy replies, but people usually felt sorry for him enough to bother with him for a few moments longer. But I am not a thing to be sympathised over. I am nice, not naive. [/color]With an encouraging smile, Jesse let the boy continue, gathering his words. “I don’t think we’ve actually met, ever” he completed. Jesse shrugged and shook his head. "Me either" he began. "Think I would've seen you 'round before, if I had. Though it's a big place, Seven" Jesse added, letting thoughts tumble out of his mouth as they were conjured up, feeling more relaxed as he spoke.

describing [6d526f]
thinking [ece4ed]
talking [aaaaaa]
b i o g r a p h y

[/size][/blockquote][/blockquote][/justify]

[Wonder]

Mathias Gammeth

Living [F5F2EF]
Speaking [97D4D0]
Other People Speaking [D9FFA9]
Deep Thought [F0D99E]
Edrys [FCBBEB]

[/size]

It was a big place, Seven, that is. The District was notorious for it’s trees, considering it was the lumber District. During the summer time you would see tree upon tree across the landscape. Though, it wasn’t as beautiful as eleven, well, Mathias assumed it wasn’t as beautiful as Eleven. That was the problem with the District, they cut the trees. Sure, they had to, that was part of the job. And eventually the trees would grow back, but the whole idea just seemed so depressing.

Mathias wasn’t one of those tree huggers that he’d seen a few times in his days. No, that was too dangerous. There have been enough public beatings of those people to last a lifetime. They stopped production, and those who stopped business stopped living. Well, nothing so dramatic, a cat-of-nine across the back a few times and most of them stopped. Most. Mathias never really understood the passion behind those people and what they did, was it really worth it to be punished for what you loved? Would he ever be punished because of Edrys?

He’d always loved the trees; they gave a certain comfort that really was unexplainable. As a child, Mathias would go into the forest at night and sit on the stumps of the trees that’d be cut down. Each stump had a different amount of rings around them, which to an 8-year old seemed to be the coolest thing in the world. It was funny how quickly things could change. The rings soon turned into a thing of business, the more rings, the older the tree, and the worse quality of wood. Well, that wasn’t true. You wanted to get a middle-aged tree. It all seemed so silly.

The forest used to be Mathias’ favourite place to hide out as a child, not from anything in particular. There were no big bad wolves in his life, but still retreating to the woods had always seemed like a good idea. The trees were always so large and full of life, each branch had so many leaves and each leave aligned with another until the blocked out the night sky.

There was a particular spot in which Mathias had grown fond of. There was a single stump in the middle of a thick area of trees. If you lay next to the stump, you could still see the night sky through the many trees. All because one tree was missing. You could see the shining from all the stars in the night sky and the moon’s light would all collect in that one spot, right where the tree was missing.

Most people were afraid of the forest at night, but not Mathias, the forest during the daytime was the worst. It was so full of life, constantly. Every little vermin was awake and crawling through it. From the squirrels to the lumberjacks, there was a constant issue of running in to something or someone. The world seemed so large during the day, well, at least Seven did. It wasn’t like Mathias had ever escaped the perimeters of the District. They were kept there for a reason, things on the outside might not have been so good. He’d never known.

Some days, he wished he could fly like the birds who’d hide in the trees. At any sign of danger, they’d escape and fly away. Fly, fly, fly. And the birds would fly away often. With each passing day, with each tree being chopped down, a home would be lost quicker than a fire. Just a buzz, really. Their homes would return in five years or so, at least that’s how long Mathias thought it took to grow a tree. He wasn’t sure, he just made the paper.

Seven was a big place, too big for Mathias’ liking. One could go their entire lives without running in to most people in the District. It seemed so weird how large it was. He couldn’t even imagine what some of the other Districts may be like. I wish I was a bird so I could fly away.

Mathias nodded at Jesse, agreeing to his statement. It was a solid effort to nod ones head up and down. Especially because it wasn’t really something that him and Edrys would do. The silent communication thing, only using gestures, never really worked out for the two of them. It was either complete silence, or complete conversation. That was a kind of statement that Edrys would like, Mathias realized. She loved big ideas like that, death, entities. It was all so interesting to her, but she was gone.

"I don’t really do the small talk thing.” He admitted almost forcefully. Mathias didn’t want to seem too awkward, however the lack of actual meaningful conversation struck a small little fear that Jesse would walk away. What would happen then? Well, he’d be all alone. Edrys and Jesse gone. The whole situation was almost comical in a tragic way. Mathias had already become so dependant on Jesse, now that Edrys walked away. Is this what friendship is like? He apologized swiftly for his inability to say something interesting. He was often criticized for his lack of spontaneity. Grasping the park bench, Mathias sighed and stared up at the sky. If only conversation were easy.

[✨ zozo.]

jesse owens district seven
f a m i l y d u t y h o n o r

A short but comfortable silence crept up between the two teenagers, and Jesse was anything but objective. Unlike most, Jesse appreciated unspoken conversation. It was hard for him to keep up with the bubbling chatter of people at school because his mind wandered off ever so easily. Like now, for instance. He should probably pay more attention to the conversation - if you could call it that. What do you call the awkward phase between introduction and conversation, anyway?

His father might as well have been standing right next to him when the next wave of words struck the seventeen year old's stream of thought in his Dad's sympathetic tone.

Making friends, Jesse. It's called making friends.

He didn't need friends. He was doing just fine without them. He-

"I don’t really do the small talk thing” Mathias confessed, and his words made Jesse smile in relief. Perhaps he'd finally met someone like himself - someone that wouldn't think his fumbling way of life was cute but would still feel sorry for him. You know him, the Owen kid. Best friend was a tribute. Didn't end well, poor kid. Poor kid. Poor, poor Jesse. No mother, no friends - Ripred, he must be doomed. An urge to prove everyone wrong, to show them that he was fine, he could do this, overpowered Jesse and gave him the will to keep up with the conversation. He'd show them all. Jesse Owens was perfectly fine. He did not need anyone's sympathy.

Adjusting his seating position, he shrugged in response. "Me either. It's more of... I don't know," the boy mused, trying to grasp the words he was attempting to explain with - searching for the best way to word what he was feeling. Hesitating for a moment, he settled on something that would at least sound like what he was trying to convey. "I guess I'm just not that great with the whole 'talking' thing" he attempted to explain - which to him made no sense at all, considering he was rambling already, so Mathias probably didn't get him, either. When Jesse got nervous, his words began to mesh and jumble into complicated, rushed thoughts that he didn't have time to process, only recalling them after they'd left his mouth. Terrified of making a fool of himself (he was particularly good at that), he just avoided unessential embarrassment altogether.

"Sorry if I'm poor company" he apologised, crossing his arms over his chest in a concluding manner. Lately he was always apologising. Jesse began to regret thinking that this could be easy. He was a listener, so half the time the other person would talk, and he'd nod along and only input a few small comments when necessary. It was all he'd ever known, being the listener. He was the talker. I was the listener. And it worked out just fine.

If only this were easier.

If only he were here to help.

describing [6d526f]
thinking [ece4ed]
talking [aaaaaa]
b i o g r a p h y

[Wonder]

I know this is brutal :\ I just wanted to get a reply to you!

Mathias Gammeth

Living [F5F2EF]
Speaking [97D4D0]
Other People Speaking [D9FFA9]
Deep Thought [F0D99E]
Edrys [FCBBEB]

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Silence. Silence was a thing that over the years Mathias had grown to respect, to appreciate. Partly due to the fact that he only had one real friend. Edrys wasn’t much of a talker. Often, the blonde haired girl would hide her slightly freckled face into knobby knees and shut off from the world, as if no one was around, including Mathias. Sadness struck the poor girl too much, and Mathias could seldom do much to help. Her father, a big brutal merciless man, often beat her but Mathias had never seen the bruises, they were in spots that no one, especially Mathias, would like to see.

So, often, whilst Edrys curled up in her ball, vacant from the world around them, Mathias would just sit. Silence was something that most never really took advantage of. Without little bits of unnecessary small talk piercing the air, you could hear the birds who chirped tales of their flight or listen to footsteps clacking along dark sidewalks. You noticed more things, little specs of dust in the air, shadows that cross into each other almost intimately.

But the thing that Mathias liked most about silence, was that the little snickers and chatter that could be heard as he passed anyone was completely exterminated. There were no chuckles in silence. Sure, the wind seemed to laugh as it ran by, but that seemed so much less hurtful and more fun. Silence had slowly become an important part to life, had Silence never been there, where would Mathias be? So, he didn’t find the conversation with Jesse all that awkward, in fact it felt more safe than anything. The feeling of safety that he often associated with silence. Perhaps, Jesse, in a form was silence. That was a thought that almost gave Mathias a little hope for a friendship.

Without a safety net, without Edrys, life seemed almost easier. But that was only an illusion. Even the thought of the girl of his dreams made his palms sweaty, where was she? Was this punishment? “Sorry I’m poor company.” Mathias barely registered the words as he glanced across the distance, where was she? Since her departure, it had been a solid five minutes. What was taking so long? How long could a walk take? Was she angry? Was she upset? What if she left again? Mathias’ eyes glazed over as he trapped himself back in to his mind. This couldn’t be happening, not another disappearance. He’d barely survived the last one – suddenly remembering Jesse, Mathias turned to him.

“Have you seen a blonde girl anywhere – she was just here.” His voice was almost frantic. “I’m just, I’m sorry, she was supposed to be here and she’s –“ Looking around the park, confirming his suspicions. “not.”

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[✨ zozo.]

jesse owens
`FAMILY DUTY HONOUR
district seven
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Mathias' question seemed a little out of the blue, and Jesse felt a pang for a fraction of a second that perhaps he hadn't been listening to him at all. A reminder of why it had been so hard for him to rebuild friendships and start anew hit him in his brief thoughts. Something he'd picked up from when he was younger was his inability to keep quiet once he'd started talking. Get him alone and Jesse would barely say a word - but once his mind started to build up ideas and answers, he struggled to know when to stop. Even now, more silence had crept between the two as Jesse lulled over this topic in his head, words refusing to leave his mouth. I should probably just keep my mouth shut,

[/i]he concluded bitterly, but brushed the thought off as quick as it had been introduced to him. Now was not the time to wallow about in self-pity.

"No, I haven't" Jesse replied honestly, but quickly added to his confession so as not to raise any disappointment in Mathias. The last thing Jesse ever really wanted to do was upset others. It just wasn't in his nature. People used to call him a pushover - picking up crayons that other people had dropped in his first years of school turning into carrying bags and returning books and letting others copy his homework answers - but the teenager was smart enough to know when he was being taken advantage of.

But even then - when Jesse saw a cause that needed help, he acted. So with a reassuring smile and a helpful expression, the brunette asked "I could help you look for her if you'd like? I mean, I might know her from school or something. What's her name?", not knowing if the overload of questions was too much to handle, for his eagerness to help often got the better of him.

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describing ;; thinking ;; talking ;;

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