District Search (Contd. Shrimpeh, LooneyL, Open)

[Rosetta]

Ariadne:

She trudged in front of Greg, through the streets of the district. They hadn't bothered to conceal their weapons in the forest, only their packs, seeing as these people were hunters, and many walked past with weapons far worse than a javelin, and a serrated knife. Still, Ariadne was nervous, as she shouldered her javelin. She'd done her best to conceal Greg's white skin under a layer of mud, artfully painted as to look like a tan, and had done rather well. However, his eyes were a problem, but as long as he kept his head down, no one would notice...hopefully.

It was early morning, and people were off to work, to hunt, with partners or alone, sheaths loaded with arrows strapped to their backs, spears in their hands, and knives on their belts. Ariadne had done her fair share of hunting, and she wasn't horrible. The kids who went past to hunt weren't much older than her, so maybe she could pass as one of them...

But, that left Greg, who probably had no hunting skill, seeing as he was living in luxury in the mayor's house his whole life. She turned to him, grabbed his arm, and dragged him down along a secluded alley.

"Alright." She told him. "This might be tricky, with you tagging along." She meant to say it bitterly, as to not let him know how desperate she'd been for a companion, but she failed miserably. She had pretended to act like he was a child, and she had been forced to watch over him on the journey here, but even she had faults, and she wasn't entirely sure she was too convincing.

She fingered the blanket in her pocket, the initials C.T. carefully embroidered upon it. Whoever had left her in this blanket as an infant, in the woods, had to be somewhere, whether the districts or the Capitol. Maybe they were her parents, or a friend, or a sibling, she wasn't sure. But, what mattered was to find C.T. and she intended to do that, even if it meant searching every single district...her initial plan.

She took a deep breath to clear her head. "I can probably go off with the hunters, and work from there." She said, running her fingers over the razor-sharp point of her javelin. "I'm not entirely sure about you, seeing as you can't hunt, and I don't think splitting up will be the best idea." She bit her lip. "What do you think?"

[shrimp]

Greg Macintosh

It's different here.

The people walk around with weapons without being shot by the Peacekeepers. They all look strong or nimble - hardly like the half-starved brainacs I see in District 10. But that life is over now. It's time to start over. We walked for days, searching for District 9. I'm sure that by now the Peackeepers are certain that I've left the district. But to them, I could be just about anywhere. They don't know I have company.

The mud is dried onto my skin, making me look very dark. But my eyes are red still - I didn't have time to get my contacts or anything. So I have to look down. I can be intimidating. I have wide-ish shoulders, and I'm tall. But half of the men here are bigger and stronger than me, so I'm nothing special.

She's right, I haven't really hunted often. I mean, my father took me somewhere to shoot stuff once, and I was okay at it. But this is different. In here, the targets move.

"Alright, if there are non-gender grouped hunters, then we'll join them, okay? But we'll be easily spotted - they probably have a schedule or something."

And we trudge on, hoping to find the mysterious C.T.

[Rosetta]

Ariadne sighed. "Alright, fine." She said, in response to his idea. "Even if they do have a schedule, I know what to do. Just stick close to me, and let me do all the talking. Hunt as little as possible to avoid suspicion, but try what you can. Look like you belong. Resist stealing anything..." At this point, Ariadne looked down, embarrassed, her fingers already itching. "Just don't do anything stupid, got it?"

She walked ahead, with an air of pride, casually, as if she belonged. "Look," She whispered, spotting a group of kids, their age, both girls and boys, walking along, bows ready, knives at their sides. One of the girls even had a javelin! "Let's join them, maybe they can tell us something."

And with that, she slid into the back of the group, head held high, gesturing for Greg to do that same.

[Rosetta]

(OCC: This thread isn't really picking up, but hopefully it will, sometime soon!!)


The day had been hard, even for Ariadne. It was only lunchtime, and she was exhausted. Throwing down her blood-soaked javelin, she dragged herself under the tree with the others, who were pulling out their lunches from their bags. The morning had past with them hiking through the animal-ridden parts of the district. She had fared pretty well, bringing down quite a few animals, and whispering pointers to Greg when she could.

The kids in the hunting group had looked them over with raised eyebrows, but said nothing, and for that she was grateful. So far, they suspected nothing. Now was lunch, when they could all finally socialize for about an hour before going back to work. Her heart began to race. Maybe she could ask about C.T...?

[shrimp]

Hmm... I wasn't that bad. I hit a few animals. I mean, it was less than others, but still - satisfactory. At least I had Ariadne to help me.

As I trail behind Ariadne, I'm wondering if asking others about our dilemma is a good thing. They'll know that we're wanderers, and not everybody likes people like us - we're considered outcasts, people who should be avoided; no doubt we've stirred up trouble everywhere that we've been.

She sits down under a tree - with all of the other kids. I look at all of them. Two of them may be gone next year, never to be seen again. It's pretty freaky. I didn't watch the games or anything, but both of the tributes from 10 are dead already. It happens that fast. Some kids are talking about how a third of the tributes have already died, but most are just silent - tried from their hunting expedition.

But still, I don't think they'd help us much. There's probably a lot of people with the initials C.T. It really wouldn't work. We'd have to travel to another part of the district - the one with adults, in order to find out anything significant. At least, that's what I think. Who knows, maybe C.T had another child or something.

I decide to walk around a bit. Silently, I motion Ariadne to follow. Maybe we'll find another exit around here, or even better - people who'd be able to help.

[Rosetta]

Ariadne saw Greg motion to her, and she stood up, mumbling about forgetting something, scooped up her javelin, and walked casually after him. Once they were a good distance away from those kids, she began talking at rapid speed.

"Alright, so we need to think of a plan to get this done quicker. I don't think breaking into the mayor's house is an option. A Peacekeeper might be able to help, but that's about suspicious don't you think?" She took a deep breath. "Perhaps asking around with the locals?"

They'd reached the town without her noticing. They were in a market square, and her hands itched to take something. The open booths taunted her, and she quickly turned to Greg, to distract herself. "What do you think?"

[shrimp]

We walk into a square. It's somewhat similar to District 10's, but it has different shops. The butcher's market is larger. There are less luxury stores and more general shops, like a bakery, an apothecary, etc. Yeah. Sure, this district looks similar, but I'm in a completely different world now. One that isn't quite as friendly to me.
I miss home. I miss the wind that blew at night - creating goosebumps on my arms. I miss the smell of the ocean. I miss the way the stars twinkled over the small wooden planks that I called a sanctuary. But those days are over. District 10 is merely a thing of the past for me. So i have to move on.

Ariadne glances at the stalls. She seems preoccupied with something for a second, almost as if she were contemplating something. But soon she turns back to me. Her plan is a good one; at the very least, it's our best option. But she doesn't know that I like to act. I'm able to speak in many different accents fairly well. The district 9 accent is pretty similar to mine, but I just tweak a few words here or there and we'll be fine.

I turn to her, and speak in a very District-9'er accent.

"Yeah, I think that's a good plan. According to the map, there are some residential areas that-a-way. The mayor's house is across the square."

But right now, I'm pretty sure that both of us are pretty hungry. I didn't bring any money or anything, and our cans are slowly dwindling; We need to save those. Besides, I'm not used to having an empty stomach - being a mayor's son doesn't help you learn how to starve.

Since we don't have anything to pay with, I decide to just sit on a bench for a minute. I think I'll collapse from exhaustion before the day's end.

[Rosetta]

Ariadne stared at Greg's tired face, as he plopped down on the bench, fatigue getting to him. She bit her lip, her stomach growling, slighty ashamed and annoyed.
   His accent before had been perfect, and they way he acted...he was a natural! Frustration took over now. How had he managed that? It had taken her years to perfect acting casual in the Districts, now this kid thinks he can just stroll out and act perfectly and whatever! Her stomach growled loudly again, and she was struck with sudden inspiration. Well, two can play at that game!
   "Watch and learn." She told him with a wink and strode up to the closest booth. An imported fruit booth. Ripe, overpriced fruits greeted her. Juicy apples, sweet pears, banannas! She hadn't had this stuff for years! 
   "Buying anything?" The man working behind the booth asked. 
   "Hm..." She pretended to look over everything with interest. "How about that?" Her hand shot out, knocking over three pears onto the ground. She giggled, nervously. "Oops, sorry!" She cried. "I'm just so clumsy!"
   The man grunted, and as he bent down to retrieve it all, Ariadne swiftly swiped all she could, and put it under her jacket. The man stood up straight, and she grinned at him.
   "Sorry about that." She said, apologetically, holding her jacket shut, not tightly, naturally, but tight enough.
   "Fine." He mumbled. "What do you want to buy?"
   "Sorry." Ariadne said. "I just realized I'm out of money." She walked away, at a casual pace, the fruit cool against her chest and stomach, feeling very proud of herself. Now, she just had to hope no one saw. 
   

[shrimp]

Oh my god. I start laughing, she's that good. It's sort of ridiculous that the guy didn't even notice that she put all of that food in her jacket.

I take an apple from her, and walk to the nearest person.

"Hey, you know anyone with the initials C.T?"

They look at me like I'm crazy. I'm then assaulted by a loud-mouth who screams at me, telling me that there are so many people with the initials CT that I'd better be freaking specific or she'll rip my head off.

So I act all tough and yell at her, telling her that I have no freaking idea as to who the person was, and if she didn't tell me where the nearest C.T. was I'd rip her head off. In this district, you're supposed to act a little tougher. I mean, there's a lot of blood here, so they aren't squeamish or anything.

I walk back to Ariadne, biting off a chunk of the apple as I approach. I point off to the right.

"Thataway."

[Rosetta]

Ariadne laughed, as Greg tried to ask about C.T., and ended up being yelled at. He was just hopeless sometimes, but she liked him company.

Finally, he came back, biting into his apple, and told her they should try going to the right. She tossed her own apple into the air, caught it, and took a bite to show off, before chuckling. "You're not that good with people are you?" She rolled her eyes. "You don't just ask people." She explained, as if it were obvious. "You need to be sneaky, like this."

She approached someone, puffed out her lip, and told them she had found someone's weapon, and she wasn't sure who's it was.

"The initials on it were C.T. I'm not sure who that is." She explained, looking crestfallen. The man pointed her in the direction of the Justice Building, telling her she'd find a roster of everyone there. She thanked him and pranced back to Greg.

"See? That's how it's done." She laughed again, and tugged his arm towards the Justice Building, and added. "At least you aren't completely hopeless. The Justice Building is to the right, anyway."

[shrimp]

"Shuddup."

I smirk and follow Ariadne to the Justice Building. Even though she has a better sense of direction than I, it's very easy to spot the dilapidated building in the distance. I warily walk under the small canopy, which is dangerously sunken in. If this collapses and I die, I blame Ariadne. Well, not really but... eh, whatever.

The roster is very large. But it's alphabetical, so I quickly look under the "T" section.

"There... Are... Three people with the initials C.T."

So there are two males and a woman. I look at Ariadne, hoping that she'll be able to find her family and be just... at peace.

"Alright, so the closest C.T. lives..."

I pull out the District 9 map, and look for the street.

"Behind us."

[Rosetta]

Two men and one woman. That's what it comes down to here in District Nine.

"Behind us." Greg told her, of the nearest C.T. Ariadne, like an idiot, glanced behind her. Ugh, she thought, her cheeks burning, how stupid can I get!

Ariadne grabbed the map from Greg's hand, humiliated. "Well then, let's go." She wheeled around, holding the map high to hide her face, and left the building. It was raining when they got out, the sun gone behind some gray clouds. Ariadne scrunched her nose, as the pouring water reduced her brownish-red hair to lank tendrils. A row of depressed houses greeted her, each one not much different from the rest. Some had plants out on the window sill, but that did little deter the dull look this entire place gave off. Ariadne found herself wishing that if her parents were here, they lived in a nicer place than this.

She turned to Greg. "So, where do you want to start?"

[shrimp]

"Alright. The first person is a man. His name is Claus Tennings. And he's forty-two."I waltz up to his designated residence and knock on the door. There's no answer. Perhaps he's out working? But we can't just leave -- what if he actually is her father? I stand at the door and think. And that's when I see that there's an open window. Technically, it's trespassing, but I'm already going to be wanted for murder, so why not? I swiftly climb through the window, expecting Ariadne to follow.
The house is small and dirty. I can smell the putrid scent of unwashed bodies in the air. I think I'm going to throw up.

But I manage to just hold my breath as I search for documents, pictures, anything that will tell me about Mr. Tennings. But there's nothing here. I see no pictures, no official documents anywhere in the house. And it's not like I have enough time to pry up the floorboards or anything. So I give up, and climb back out of the window.

I'm lucky nobody saw me, because they'd probably think I was stealing something and they'd go and attack me.

[Alice Weather]

(Hope you dont mind if i join)

Rosella was walking around the square that day looking for Connor, when something caught her eye. A girl with a javelin knocking over fruit at he over priced baily stand. " hm what is she up too " she thought to herself. As Baily bent down to retrive the fruit the girl had dropped she saw that she had stuffed her jacket with as much fruit as she could. Then told Baily something and walked over to a Boy who looked like he could keel over any moment. Rosella got closer so she could see what was going on. After the boy took an apple from girl they went to the justice building. " what the heck would a couple of kids want at the justice building? "

Following them to Tennings house. Looking over at the sun Rose can tell if anyone is home they are zonked out from drunkenness . Thats what Tennings does is hunt and drink. She could not fathom why on earth anyone would want to vist this man. ever... The boy is climbing into the house??? " ok i gotta end this now before any peackeeper comes along .." Running up to the pair Rose signals the two to come over to her. " Get you buts over here right now. If you want to keep the skin on your back intact i suggest you come with me. Breaking and entering here is a crime."

[Rosetta]

(Nah, I'm glad you joined Thanks!)
Ariadne watched Greg go into the house, smirking. He was getting more and more daring lately, and she found herself appreciating that. She didn't follow. She knew better than that. She decided to keep watch.

She shouldered her javelin, and composed her face as to look like she was waiting for someone. After a short while, she heard Greg climbing out of the window behind her. She turned to ask him what had happened, but a voice shouting towards them made her freeze.

Her blood turned to ice, and she wheeled around to see a girl, not much older than her, motioning to them, looking stern, and telling them that they were committing a crime.

Ariadne sighed, and rolled her eyes, giving Greg an annoyed look. "I don't know what you're talking about." She informed the girl, shrugging. "This is my uncle's house. Me and my, uh, boyfriend," She instantly cursed herself for saying that, and didn't even bother looking for Greg's reaction. "are looking for him, but the door was locked." She fixed the girl with a hard look. "What's it to you?"