Silent Irony [Tori]

[[Ella] -- gone until 10/25 D=]

When I was eight, my mother showed me how to make poison.

At that time, when I was still living in District 9, I'd been dubious on whether or not I even needed the knowledge. My brother Roy had left us, and my father was dead; soon enough, we'd probably migrate to 5. And in turn, I would be able to drop my pretense as a hunter and live to take care of the wildlife. It was ironic how I was born in a place where we killed animals and managed to end up in a place that tried to keep them alive.

But still, Janine Soleil insisted, and I'd dutifully reported to my lessons in the forest each day. District 9 had an animal population that was constantly changing drastically, but their plants were well alive. My mother showed me how to create the deaths of many animals through herbs; the berries of a mistletoe, the bulbs of a daffodil. She showed me how to take the smallest of unhealthy symptoms and turn them into death. She'd said that, someday, I would be grateful to her because I would need those skills.

Well. Mother was wrong.

Now, passing through the district market, I swung my bag of herbs absently around my side, letting it bump against my legs. It took me a few seconds too late to realize that I was bleeding, that the thorns of the stuff in my bag had somehow punctured through the plastic covering--and the cloth over my skin. For a moment I kept on walking, just glaring at the small wound. Then, muttering to myself with words that didn't even make sense to myself, I took a seat on one of the open benches of the market.

"Not the poisonous one, not the poisonous one..." I reached inside the bag and pulled out a plant stained scarlet in a few spots. It took me a minute to examine it, and then another to determine, dryly, that it was safe, and that I wasn't going to die. Not that that would happen anyway. I'd hallucinate first.

My gaze flickered back to the plant, only to realize that it looked oddly familiar. Eyebrows raised, I turned it over in my hand. The brightly colored petals, the smooth texture...

"Primrose," I said with some surprise. Great. There were bunches of primrose growing outside my house. I should've realized it immediately. My lips curved up in a smile, small and wry.

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[Tori]

OOC: I see you post in first person. Is it okay if I post in third? Or should I post in first as well?

Nilly Harrison had run away. She had no logical reason really. Living at how had just become too much to handle. Sabs was sick. The only person she had left in the world might be dying. It was too much. She was a frightened child again, watching her father being dragged away by men in white. She was a child only breifly remembering the smile her mother had before she passed away from the very same disease that her sister had now.

Sabrina had always vowed to protect Nilly. But now, what promise was it? She could do not more. Nilly was on her own, and running away. Of course the better part of her decided to return; which was what she was doing now. But she still felt vasting unprepared for what might await her at home. Having not been able to change in a day, she was a sight. Her was knotted and unkept. If one didn't know what she had been through, they might think she was attacking by some bird. Her clothes were now partly stained and she looked incredibly tired.

The girl who never smiled turned the corner. Only a few more turns until her house. There was a girl on a bench in front of her. Nilly open just realised she was closer to house than she thought, as she was in the market. The girl on the bench drew closer as Nilly walked in her direction. But it was only when Nilly was a few feet away that she noticed the blood on her pants.

"You're bleeding." Nilly said blantly as if the girl didn't know. It was the first thing out of her mouth as she approached. "Do you need a bandage or anything?" Not that Nilly have any on her, but it seemed polite to ask. She bit her lip wondering why she had even said anything at all.

[[Ella] -- gone until 10/25 D=]

OOC: Third person's fine xD

It was seriously rash of me to just sit there, studying the primrose, and not doing anything at all. I supposed it wasn't like I was going to bleed to death or anything, but I didn't want to explain to my brother why my pants were stained with my own blood. Not that I couldn't wash it or anything. But Roy had always paid attention to what I did, and even more once our mother had died and I moved in with him. He would always end up finding out, and then there'd be exhausting explanations and overused vocabulary.

Roy was the only melodramatic one in my family.

I sighed and, without thinking, tossed the flower in the nearest trash bin. No need to taint the rest of the plants with my blood. Besidess, it was just a primrose. I didn't even remember picking it out in the shop. Somehow, it must have wandered its way inside, although I couldn't think of an explanation.

Just then, a girl passed in front of me, only to pause and stop as her eyes caught my tiny puncture. She didn't say anything at first, but her next words were straightforward enough to make me want to smile. "You're bleeding." The most obvious words I'd heard so far since I'd moved to District 5.

"A bandage?" I repeated, but my voice was just as blatant and dry. I shook my head and wiped at the blood. "I think I'm fine. Don't you? It's just a tiny wound." Besides, the girl seemed uncomfortable in front of me, as if she just wanted to walk away. Well, she could. I would let her. I was just a stranger, after all.

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