Re: Bae Fescue - District 10

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Bae Fescue

Bae is a tall, well-built 16-year-old girl with wide hips and shoulders. She has ragged, waist-length brown hair that is almost always pinned up into a loose bun, held by two smooth sticks, which are worn by continuous use. She lets her hair down only when she works the horses placed in her care. She has large blue eyes that are almost always sad, and only brighten when she works with her horses. She stands about 5'9" and is only a little underweight. Her skin is tanned lightly from working in the sun and her muscles are strong and lean from training yearlings and chasing foals.

On her back, she sports scars from lashes she received for trying to protect her younger brother, who had stolen a piglet, in hopes they would go less hungry that year. She can usually be found in a loose white shirt and tan, old riding breeches that where her mother's. Bae wears worn leather boots that are caked with mud and horse feces. She is usually pretty dirty and caked in sweat from working in the barns, but is isn't that unattractive, was she?

Bae is quite mature for her age. She always wears a soft smile on her face, but it never quite reaches her eyes. She became her younger brother's guardian when her parents passed away. Her parents were cattle herders and while training a new recruit, they were trampled to death by a stampede, when the new guy forgot to latch the gate. Bae went to the ceremony alone, not telling her brother, Roan, of their deaths until the next morning. And so, Bae became the sole provider of the Fescue family. She wouldn't let Roan help, he needed to stay in school until he became of the age where he could start working with the animals. Bae herself dropped out of school to work more.

When Roan was 11, he stole a piglet to try and help relieve some of the pressure that was on his big sister. Instead, he was caught. He received a punishment of 30 lashes. Bae heard of what was happening and got to the whipping post as Roan was about to receive his 11th lash. She threw herself in front of the whip to protect him. She then begged to the Peacekeeper to let her take his lashes. The man coldly refused and two others pulled her back as she watched her brother receive the rest of his punishment. After, she was lashed 15 more times for interfering. Roan had cried apologizes with tears flowing freely as they limped home. She washed and wrapped his wounds and he did the same for her. Roan never, ever stole anything again and they never brought up the topic again.

Bae trains and cares for the horses that are used to round up cattle. She only lets her hair down when she rides them. She loves the horses more than almost anything in the world, other than her brother of course. She has a real connection with the gentle beasts. Since she grew up on a cattle ranch, she it great with a lasso, so that she can get a hold on a calf. She also knows how to prepare animals, as she had to slaughter the animals they were able to keep after sending the best animals to the Capital. Preparing food was a necessity when you were the oldest of two orphans.

Bae is only truly happy when she's working with the horses. She almost always has a smile pasted on her face, but it’s not quite true until she's riding. She is always calm and collected. No one can remember the last time she got so mad she screamed, or got mad at all. When it seemed like she would start to get frustrated, she would disappear and return hours later, covered in sweat and dirt, from a session of intense riding and she would be as calm and collected as ever.

Bae doesn't speak much, so when she does people listen. Her brother absolutely loves her and does enough talking for the both of them. While Roan is a dreamer and reads a lot, Bae is practical. She doesn't wonder what life would be like in other Districts, the Capital, or even if there weren't Districts. She can't afford to think like that. She needs to think of how to survive, and how to provide. She has been trying to get Roan to sober up and see things like she did, but she did it half-heartedly. Though she worries what would happen to him if she got picked as a tribute, she needs his lively spirit. She wouldn't be able keep going, if it wasn't for her brother. She could never let anything happen to him. She couldn't lose someone else.

Codeword: Odair

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