Hope Keeps the Heart from Breaking [open]

[Sedge]

~Crucis Greenlaw

Amazing, isn't it? The colors of the ocean; they're always changing. One dawn you step out, and there's oranges, and reds, and golds against a soft blue background. And then you come back to find that its transformed into a beautiful sheet of indigo, sparkling in the mid-afternoon sunlight. But I feel like nothing quite beats the midnight ocean. When the waters have all but fallen still, and all that remains is the gentle lapping against the sand. I'd stare out to the water that has become an ink black... as mysterious and unknown as the dark side of the moon.

I see the ocean as a person. It has its moods and patterns, but despite the huge range of emotions and personality it never truly changes. Even when it storms, and waves that seem like they're miles high slam into and shatter boats into unidentifiable splinters. Then when it turns around and is the gentle waves that crawl up the sandy shorelines just short of the people resting leisurely just outside its reach; the ocean is still the same. It was always capable of greater evil, and of simple kindness. The sea is the servant of circumstance, and rarely keeps its promises.

Sitting here, and allowing my caramel eyes to rest their gaze over the blue horizon I feel at peace. It's early, especially since I don't have any school or work to do- so I went to the bay. It is a little farther out from the normal, more urban parts of District 4. It's a little sanctuary where I feel much safer, despite the number of peacekeepers that occasionally patrol out this far. By the water is the soothing feeling that I've never quite been able to achieve around other people.

I glance towards the sun, and notice I've been out longer than I'd thought. It had rose considerably higher than it was than when I'd arrived, and I guessed it must have been about an hour. I rubbed my brown hair free of some sand and stood up. My feet were bare, and I could feel the grainy sand cool in between my toes. There was a bit of a chill against my bare legs, as I'd decided to wear shorts out on the beach. I didn't like the heaviness of the longer legs of pants, and the sand that tended to stick to them on the beach, even if it meant being warmer. Instead I opted to simply wear a coat to keep away the chill that came off of the ocean.

The main area of District 4 lay about a mile away from me. Easily walking distance, but I padded along the shore like a turtle. I wasn't ready to be back to the house yet. I was busy at home, enjoying the beautiful coastal shore.

[charade]

Irene Sykes

It wouldn't have surprised Irene if seawater ran through peoples veins instead of blood in her home district of four. It seemed that few could resist the alluring siren call of the crashing waves nor the untamed majesty of the pounding surf. But really, she was disappointed that once more she was going for a walk along the shoreline to be alone and once again, there was already someone there. Did a sense of decency truly escape the minds of everyone she met? Was the beach simply not big enough for all to the point where the paths she trod were already being trodden upon?

It was a brown-haired boy, one that looked around her age, just walking in the sand, leaving little barefoot footprints as he went. She was wearing a pair of sneakers herself, finding it far easier to change her socks than to have to wash all the grit off of her feet; the main reason she didn't ever walk on the sand without footwear. He hadn't seen her yet (simply because he was walking away from her, not towards her) but she was closing the difference fast and seeing as how nobody else seemed to be around, meant that she would have to engage in small talk, less she be seen as rude.

Shoes crunching on a rather large patch of pebble, she coughed as politely as she could and made her presence known."Uhm. Hi there. Nice weather we're uh, having. Mind if I walk with you for a bit? Its just that you're kind of in my way and uh, well, not that it upset me...

...

I'll just be quiet now."


Jamming her hands into her pockets before she could start awkwardly fidgeting with them, she looked down at her feet and wondered why she hadn't simply slowed her pace to avoid a situation like this. On some level she knew she just really wanted to talk to someone who wasn't going to ignore or mock her like she felt her sisters did, but so far her forays out onto the beach had been less than successful. Most of the people she ran into were a tad self-absorbed, and goodness but she didn't feel the need to consort with any type of career. Career's were not her favorite people and she wouldn't have much to talk about with them anyway. This boy didn't seem all that threatening though.

Which begged the question, why was he out here? She had always seen the occasional person swimming or flailing about and jabbing at the sky or the ground with harpoons in mock battle with other aspiring tributes. Some even ran along the shore, puffing and sweating as they worked out. But this boy? He was just quietly loping along as if he hadn't a care in the world. Maybe he would be upset that she had interrupted whatever he was thinking about. If that was the case, then perhaps she'd be better off increasing the speed of her strides.

[Sedge]

~Crucis Greenlaw

For a while, things had been quiet along my stretch of beach. I hadn't run into any other people or even sea gulls, which was a welcome change to such a mellow morning. As the wind blew through my brown hair, and failed to cut through my black coat, I was able to enjoy it further without the annoyance of chilly weather. All there was for me was the chirping of birds, the lapping of ocean, the beige sand, and the taste of salt on the breeze that I loved more with every day.

There came a thought of my father working on a fishing ship, and being surrounded by what I loved more than anything. The delicate little vessel rocking atop the waves, but the balanced men working on through. With calloused hands they would stretch out their rope nets and carry each end to opposite sides of the boat. Then on the count of three they would toss it into the water with a splash. Little buoys atop the nets would keep tit floating, and the men would prepare a crane to be lifting it back up in their harvest of the sea. I imagined him, tan and strong face with a salty beard and the proudest look on his face as they brought in the biggest catch of the day for a second time. How great it must be...

My daydreaming was soon interrupted, however, as I realized that I wasn't quite alone here.

I heard her before I saw her; she made crunching sounds with her sneakers as she stepped down the shore. She'd covered distance much more quickly than I'd been as I strode leisurely in the sand. When she spoke, I paused, and turned to face her. I threw on what was supposed to be a friendly smile to greet this new person that I'd encountered.

"Hi... I guess?" I replied, a tad confused, "I s'pose the weather's alright. A tad chilly with the breeze coming off of the water... windy."

I fell quiet for a moment as I attempted to evaluate the person in front of me. She didn't seem that malicious, and that was probably the furthest from the truth. It was far too strong of a word to describe this nervous girl in front of me. If anything... maybe friendly? No. Just awkward and polite. Or she was just putting up some sort of act to fool me and in turn make me make a fool of myself. Ok now I'm thinking too hard... or not?

I hadn't realized the long pause that I'd taken until then, and I spoke faster as if to make up for it, "I was just taking a little but of a walk, y'know." I release a nervous chuckle. "Usually don't see much more than careers or gulls down here. But I guess they're pretty much the same thing, right?"

There, a joke! She couldn't think that I'm a complete idiot since I made a joke. Or it was a bad one and she was going to laugh at me and push me into the ocean. Oh, elementary school memories, stay out of this!

[charade]

Irene Sykes

Just taking a walk? Well there were plenty of worse things that he could have been doing, like wandering the sand in search of someone to stab or otherwise maim. One could never be too careful. After all, there were plenty of people that seemed normal, and then as soon as they were in the arena all these bloodthirsty, crazy acts came out of nowhere. A game from a few years ago still made her sick when she thought about it, one tribute carrying bits and pieces of another tribute around with him as he traversed a frozen landscape.

The boy laughed and said something about the similarity between careers and seabirds, but of this, she wasn't really sure what he meant by it. Careers couldn't fly. Neither did gulls generally attack people. She supposed that he must have meant that they shared a single-mindedness when it came to chasing after what they wanted, and that they were both willing to bash other people away in order to get to their prize. Still, she refrained from laughing, unsure whether or not he had said it seriously or as a jest.

At the very least, he appeared to be cordial, which was less than she could say about some other people. Nor did he seem all that taken aback by her words or sudden appearance. "Right... Well I'm Irene. If you were wondering." Of course he wasn't wondering, that's silly. You should really stop bothering strangers Irene, one of these days you're gonna bother the wrong person, just like Katrina is always saying. Do you want to wind up floating away on the waves with your throat slit?

[/i] She coughed again before rubbing at her neck with a hand.

"It's uh, nice though. Quiet. Not many people around and no one training for the games. Not like anyone's just walking around looking for people to stab or anything." A nervous laugh of her own escaped her lips as she mentally berated herself for sounding like a huge creep. And now he's gonna think that something is seriously wrong with you. Should've stuck with talking about the weather, not people getting murdered with no one around to watch.

A seagull flew by overhead, screeching meaninglessly as it glided on its powerful wings, something that Irene took a moment to stare at as she walked. Now there was a creature that never had to think about what it wanted to say, never had to worry about what others thought about it, it was happy to just exist and continue existing, nothing more, nothing less."So...what's your name anyway? I'm not trying to badger you or anything, I just thought I should know." I bet that sounded creepy too. Learn to zip your lips girl! You're not like Julie, and that girl could talk for hours. And stop comparing yourself to your sisters. Its not a healthy mindset to have. I'm talking to myself again aren't I? Oh bother. And now there's just this huge awkward silence.

Their steps fell into unison, and not for the first time, she tried to concentrate on how interesting the sand could be when she felt she was embarrassing herself and ignore everything else, like whether or not the boy was staring at her like some kind of freak or that the breeze had blown some of her brunette hair into her face or that the seagull was still winging on its merry way far above them.
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[Anarchy is BACK!!]

Ghost had been sitting on the beach making his makeshift spear. The shaft was made out of a plant that looked similar to bamboo and had a similar flexibility to bamboo, yet wasn't bamboo. He had made a strong rope over the last few days that he had stayed near the district out of the local flora found in the forest and was currently lashing his partially serrated knife to one end of the shaft. He pulled tight as he finished the last wrap and tied it off before standing up and walking into the water, his shirt and jacket farther up on the beach with his towel leaving him barefoot with no shirt and black pants.

He waded into the water and stood there, watching the fish beneath him just swim around his legs. With a lightning fast reflex, his arm jerked forwards, sending the knife into the water and through a considerably large fish. Unfortunately for him, the fish was stronger than he thought and he had missed anything vital, pissing it off. It swam off, pulling him off of his feet and under the water, dragging him under the water for a few minutes before he was able to get the knife out of the injured fish. He looked around the water and found that he was still in some shallow water, though he was still just barely submerged standing up on the bottom.

Ghost turned himself horizontal and began to swim to shallower water before he stood up out of the water. He shook his rust brown hair, sending water out in all directions while he held onto his makeshift spear. The water felt good...it just wasn't what he needed right now. He needed to feed two mouths tonight like every night. It was just then that he sensed the presence of some other people and looked to the shore which wasn't that far from him.

There were two kids, not much older than when he had decided to take up arms against the capitol. He looked at the boy and girl with his bright green eyes, one shadowed by a scar on his right jaw. On his left arm was a tribal patterned tattoo made of black ink made from natural ingredients in the forest. He was very muscular and intimidating at six foot one. He rested the spear on his shoulder and held out his left hand in greeting.

"Hello there!" He called out to them. "Nice day for a walk, isn't it?"

[Sedge]

~Crucis Greenlaw

As if the day could not grow any stranger, there was the arrival of a third person to what I'd once though was a secluded beach. It seemed that much more people came here than I'd once thought, or for some strange reason I am an attractor of awkward women and strange bamboo spear fishermen that assume popping out of the water with a weapon and then shouting at some strangers is a way to make friends. Screw logic. At least people were talking to me for once, and if this strange guy was willing to do so, then so be it. Besides, there weren't nearly enough hiding places for a body out here, let alone two.

I supposed that friendliness would likely be the better course of action and waved to the much larger and intimidating male, "Hi there. Looks a little damp over there! I guess perhaps you could get out of the water and join us for a walk, no?"

Of course. Invite the guy that looks like a serial killer out for a walk, what's next? You going to buy him flowers and show him home to mommy? I shrugged away my common sense and decided to listen to the heart this time. He didn't seem so bad to me, despite his more rough appearance. Maybe it's because I am a little too used to the idea of appearances dictating people too often. That profiling is a bad thing. Except when dealing with criminals. No. This really wasn't the time for me to start on some long and intense mental debate that couldn't turn out the same as it would in my head.

I just needed to stop trying to over thing things. Leaning on my back foots I rubbed a palm through my brunette hair and waited to see the reactions of the people around me. Considering how great I am at making the wrong decisions, it was a good idea for me to brace myself.

[charade]

Irene Sykes

What was it she had said about how fortuitous is was to not have any crazy career wannabes running about trying to stab people? Yeah. Perhaps she had better watch what she thought a little more carefully, because her fears appeared to have become a startling reality. It wasn't that she was afraid. She was terrified. It was one thing to run into a career with a pointy object, but it was another thing entirely to run into one sitting calmly on the beach holding a weapon and a bloody fish, while grinning from a scar-covered face in a way the just made him look psychotic. at least, by her impression.

So this is the part where I get chopped out into little bitty pieces and stuffed in a satchel or fed to the fish or eaten. Stupid beach. Stupid walks. I should have stayed home and argued with Julie.Her eyes had widened at the sight of this scary boy, but they had cause to widen further when the boy who hadn't told her what his name was decided to invite the one with the bloody weapon to join them on their walk. Was he some kind of crazy? Maybe they were in cahoots, the one looking for unsuspecting beach walkers and being nice, until he led them back to the one who'd be glad to carve them into fish bait.

I don't want to die, but hey, maybe he's only interested in fish. Like the one he's holding, Oh nope, don't look it at Irene. Don't look at his face either he'll think its rude and making fun of his scars and then that spears going to go through your eye like it did to that tribute from the other ear and then you're going to get tossed into the ocean and drift away and sink as the fish nibble on your skin until you stop looking like a person and more like a skeleton.

She really didn't have much else to say, other than that it had not been her plan to meet a pair of lunatics this morning and that she was seriously reconsidering talking to people at all. But that was just idle thought, she was too busy staring straight ahead as her heart began racing to say anything about how she felt out loud. And yet, her hands were getting clammy and her tongue felt heavy in her mouth. She tried to talk to the boy again, and managed a soft squeaky whisper.

"So..what was your name again? I'd just like to know in case I survive the next five minutes and you don't I'll have something to tell the authorities."

Please don't tell me that that guy is getting closer. How did he get himself to look like that? Lose a bunch a fights? Self-inflicted? Or scars of wounds his victims placed there as they struggled in their death throes? I guess I'll soon find out. Of course, I could always try running away, but then what if he decides to throw that spear? No, I'm better off sticking next to what's his face, two is better than one, even if the one if armed and dangerous.

[Anarchy is BACK!!]

Ghost watched the two and couldn't help but feel a pang of sorrow within him. That could have been him and Dwyn. His girlfriend seemed almost a ghost now as he had not seen head or tail of her anywhere when he had visited District Nine before coming here. He felt a tear on his cheek and wiped it away, just adding more seawater to his face. He felt a flapping in his hand and found that subconsciously, he had caught another fish. He looked at the fish and threw it back. He hadn't hurt it at all and wasn't in the mood to get fish anymore. He would probably just pickpocket someone later in the day and use whatever they had to buy some food.

Ghost thought about which Peacekeeper he should rob before shaking his head and pushing that to the back of his mind. Not in the district Ghost. Dwyn and Melanie would not like it. Neither would Passion. He thought. Passion was his traveling companion and a woman from district one. A great asset in his travels as he was heading to her old district.

"Hi there. Looks a little damp over there! I guess perhaps you could get out of the water and join us for a walk, no?"

Ghost was jolted out of thought by the sound of the young man's voice and pondered the proposal before shrugging and taking an extra, though now soggy, length of rope from one of his pockets and making a sling for his spear by tying the length of rope to two points on the shaft and slinging it over his shoulder. He waded out of the water and over to the boy and girl who were standing there. He looked at them and almost laughed at how the girl was reacting.

She had a look of pure terror on her face, probably thinking that he was some sort of serial killer. In a sense...that was probably true. But he had never intentionally harmed a peacekeeper unless they were going to hurt someone that he loved or attacked him. If a civilian attacked him, he would just knock them out and not kill them. He put on a warm smile and glanced at her and then the boy before holding out his hand to the boy first.

"The name's Kurt, but everyone calls me Ghost." He really wanted to know what was going on in District Four and the Mayor hadn't really been much help. So he thought he might walk with these kids and talk to them about the district.

[Sedge]

He Does,He Says,He Hears,He Thinks


~Crucis Greenlaw

I guess Irene wasn't nearly as willing to be welcoming of this new person as I was, not that I could blame her. He was pretty intimidating, and even I could feel a sense of guardedness around this older male. I could barely defend myself against guys my own age, so how am I supposed to defend against this huge guy here? I scratched the back of my head nervously, and gave a soft chuckle when I heard my new companion's next words.

"So..what was your name again? I'd just like to know in case I survive the next five minutes and you don't I'll have something to tell the authorities." she asked, and I could practically smell the fear on her like it was sweat.

"Crucis Greenlaw, but know that if either of us are leaving with their skin, it's probably me," I replied with a small chuckle, trying to lighten the mood.

It really didn't take long for him to close the distance between us in order to talk. He didn't seem to approach with any bad intentions, which at least made me a little more comfortable in front of him. Beside me was Nervous Nelly, and I couldn't help but feel like she was overreacting at least a little bit. Who knows. Maybe I'm the strange one who talks to strangers. Isn't that something that adults tell us not to do when we're little? Meh. They also told us not to swear, but that doesn't stop us.

When the stranger finally arrived he offered his hand to me, and spoke, "The name's Kurt, but everyone calls me Ghost."

Having accepted this stranger's hand, I then nodded, and felt a little less anxious around him. Polite enough it seemed, so I decided it wouldn't hurt to continue the conversation, "Ghost, huh? Well I'm Crucis... and this is... Irene, right? We actually just ran into each other on the beach ourselves. You don't look like you're from around here, though."

I fidgeted a little as I was able to get a better look at him, and he really didn't look like he was from these parts. He looked too strong to be from District 4. People here were strong, but their strength was formed out of desire for it. Looking at him, he seemed to have developed it more out of necessity. Muscle from living a hard life, and not a life in a gym or running in the sand. But the universe loves to prove me wrong sometimes.

[charade]

Irene Sykes

How chivalrous of Crucis to imply that i would be the one to perish if things went south. Kurt eh? Kurt rhymes with hurt as is the sensation I'll probably be feeling soon. Oh? He goes by Ghost? That's so much less threatening. Why would he choose that? Does he make a habit out of turning people into ghosts? Do they follow him in a lonely procession unseen by the naked eye as they point accusingly at their killer? And of course he didn't look like he was from around here, he probably just erupted out of the ground like some kind of mythical being looking for people to drag to the depths of the sea. I could be overreacting, but seriously. How many people just wander the beach looking like that?


Irene was trying hard not to seem afraid, but it was a battle that she was losing rather quickly. Crucis seemed to be more at ease then she was in this situation, but why he didn't seem as uncomfortable was unknown to her and highly confusing. She wouldn't have thought it, but this appeared to one of those times where a peacekeeper would be a welcome sight instead a fearful one; honestly, even those stone faced sticks in the mud seemed to be a better alternative than this Ghost. Kurt smiled at her, showing all of his teeth and sending her train of thought moving towards the junction between "i'm gonna die" and "he's definitely a cannibal." But he hadn't made any threatening motions just yet. Yet. If he did, she had half a mind to push Crucis towards him and run to safety. Even if the safety in question was farther than it needed to be at the moment. The older boy had green eyes, something she hadn't noticed at first glance. Of course, the scars on his face really detracted from any of his other features.


Okay so what am I supposed to do in a situation like this? A psychotic ex-career wants to do away with me. Crucis had already made it painfully obvious that he's not going to be much help in the case of impending death so the best thing to do would be to not panic. I'm not panicking. Not. Panicking. next time Julie invites me to a party i'm going to take it because those guys can't possibly be as bad as this. Say something. Anything. You can't let the guy think that you're being rude. Maybe that's what caused his descent into madness in the first place. One too many people being mean or dumb. Or maybe he just always liked to stab people and got mad whenever they complained. Just say something.


"N-nice to meet you g-ghost. I'm Irene."

Did you have to stutter? Good going girl. Flipping fantastic.

[Anarchy is BACK!!]

Ghost looked at them both. They were so...innocent. They weren't like him who had the blood of multiple peacekeepers and spies on his hands. Compared to them...he was a monster. But to survive in the world of freedom...you had to become a monster or else you would be snatched up and either killed or turned into an Avox. To live, you had to fight back. Never back down and protect the morals of the old country. The only one that he knew was freedom and that was enough to fight for for him. He wanted to be free and for the other citizens to be free.

He looked up at the boy who had just begun to speak. "Ghost, huh? Well I'm Crucis... and this is... Irene, right? We actually just ran into each other on the beach ourselves. You don't look like you're from around here, though," The boy said to him. He shrugged a bit and looked at him and then the girl spoke up.

"N-nice to meet you g-ghost. I'm Irene."

Ghost sighed and looked at her. "Everyone acts like this around me. For once I would like someone to actually not freak out. But I guess that's what I get for being a fighter and not a talker." He couldn't be healed with just simple words, he had always been one to take action. He had so much blood on his hands and he knew that it would affect him one day. But that wouldn't be today. Maybe when there was no fighting to be done and his goal was achieved, he would try to settle down somewhere and if he didn't find Dwyn, he would settle down with someone else. He immediately pushed those thoughts away.

"Anyways...to answer your question Crucis...I am not from the district. No, I am not a serial killer, but I do get into scuffles with deer every once in a while...and the occasional...umm...peacekeeper? But I haven't in two years." There. He had said it. The blood was on his hands. "But you would probably feel that way towards them if they just came one night when you were young, held them in front of you, and slit my parents throats, spilling their blood onto me when I was only thirteen and leaving them to die while I tried to wake up my parents who were never coming back."

[Sedge]

He Does,He Says,He Hears,He Thinks


~Crucis Greenlaw

My blood drained from my face at the open nature of this strange wanderer. After less than ten minutes of interaction he was already spilling dark secrets faster than a drunk. Even at our young and impressionable age, it was really strange for a person to trust complete strangers with this sort of knowledge. So he's just admitted to the murder of peacekeepers, and told us how his parents died. How anticlimactic.

I decided to just play along with what he was spilling, and avoid the tip of his spear as best as possible. Though he was more of a peacekeeper-killing-kind-of-guy, I didn't know what other kind of guy he was. He could have been anyone, and could do anything to us. Neither of us were particularly powerful, and he had to crane his neck to look down at tiny ol' me. I either need a growth spurt or better luck...

Shifting from foot to foot for a moment, I finally decided to open my own mouth and speak, "Well. That was rather... honest, I suppose is the best word for that..."I coughed, "So District Four is a bit of a ways out to travel for a roamer like yourself, what drew you here? I imagine it wasn't the beaches,"

My back straightened out, and I stood a little taller with my shoulders relaxed. I kept my chin up, and watched this strange Ghost, and waited for his reply to my question. Around us, the weather seemed to have turned a little sour, and the once gentle breeze was beginning to grow stronger. It pulled at my coat, but failed in breaking through to chill my body. Nearby, the waters were growing slightly more choppy and foamy.

What a moody day.

[charade]

Irene Sykes

All Irene had wanted out of the day was a walk to clear her head. That was all. A nice, peaceful, calming distraction from arguing sisters and uncaring parents in a district full of people that were only out for themselves; and if she wandered into someone who felt the same way, all the better. But what she had gotten instead was a confusing semi-cowardly companion with which to face off against an older boy who was clearly, quite out of his mind. As "Ghost" had rattled off a short review of his life, Irene felt that her eyes must have gone from widened to outright bulging. This was not the every day event, and she was desperately wanting some normalcy around this time.

Everyone acts this way around him he says. Gee, I wonder why? Maybe he should try looking less like he goes around killing people and people would warm up to him a bit more. Oh, he's not from around here? So he is a criminal. On the run from another district and gracing us with his presence. He's killed...peacekeepers. Oh no no no, that's not a good thing to hear from someone. He's just joking right? Trying to make himself seem more intimidating? Well news flash, its working, I really just want to make myself scarce right now Oh no, what's that? I bet his parents were criminals too, Peacekeepers don't just stab people for no reason. Not like him. Nope nope nope. This has gone on long enough. Crucis. No. Stop. Engaging in small talk with the murdering criminal freakshow? That's what he waaants. Then we'll be made into soup.


It was then that she decided that if Crucis wasn't going to do something, then it fell to her to make sure she got out of this alive. The fight or flight response was kicking into gear as fear threaded its way through her mind. She had half a mind to tell him to quit bothering them and go away, but, something about his eyes dissuaded her from that decision entirely. No, the best option, and the only thing she felt she could do at this rate was to simply not be there any longer. And so, with a stifled noise that was halway between a shriek and a sob, Irene charged right past the self proclaimed ghost as fast as her heels would take her, pounding footprints into the sand with every step that she took.

Best of luck to that Crucis boy, I'm outta here, Irene soup is off the menu!




ooc: Irene has left the building thread. Thanks for the rping guys :3

[Anarchy is BACK!!]

He immediately regretted what he had said. These people didn't know what it was like to have anything taken away from them in front of their eyes. Sure, they may have lost a brother or sister in the games...but that was different. Losing someone who was hundreds of miles away was much different than losing someone directly in the next room or only a matter of feet from you. These people did not know the loss that he had or any of his friends had gone through. They did not know how you felt when you were left alone with two bleeding corpses that you had called mother and father.

He placed his hand onto his head and looked up to see the girl running off. He sighed and looked at Crucis. The kid looked scared, but had decided to stay. "Well. That was rather... honest, I suppose is the best word for that...So District Four is a bit of a ways out to travel for a roamer like yourself, what drew you here? I imagine it wasn't the beaches," the young boy said to him. He shrugged and looked around. "Yeah...it was. Also, the beaches and food are better than they were in District 12. I just kinda...had to come here for peace. The peacekeepers used to know who I was on sight, but that was two years ago. All I want to do is find someone who may be residing here and then go on my way. I don't plan on killing unless I get attacked."

Ghost sighed and looked at the boy. "I don't suppose you know someone named Melanie Traverson? If not...it's okay."

[Sedge]

He Does,He Says,He Hears,He Thinks


~Crucis Greenlaw

Irene ran off rather fearfully, and I watched her for a moment as she dashed across the sand. It seemed a tad rude to me to be running off from strangers like that. Even if they just admitting to killing other human beings, that was just plain rude. Hasn't anyone ever heard of giving someone the benefit of the doubt? Ghost here, while intimidating, didn't look anything like the type to murder teenagers and throw their bodies into the ocean. He definitely was much classier than that.

I listened as he spoke, asking me about some person, "I don't suppose you know someone named Melanie Traverson? If not...it's okay."

Traverson. Didn't ring a bell, so I shook my head and said, "Not a clue. District Four is pretty large, though. Pretty sure I could probably help you find her if you want. Though, I'm not really sure what kind of attention you'd be getting in town."

[ooc: sorry bout the shortness]