The Moon Lights the Way (open)

[Knuckles]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: 2A232D; border:8D7C96 solid 4px; width: 500px; height: 181px; padding: 0 0 0 0px; border-radius: 30px 30px 30px 30px;][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true] Darius Faux The sun is climbing over the orchards for the night causing the sky to change colors turning from blue to orange to purple to red. The moon slowly peaks it's way into the sky to light the way for the night. The site would be breathtaking for most, but it has no effect on me. It's just the end of another day. The moon is a welcomed site for everyone. The wind blows gently through the sky drying the sweat that drips down my back. The sacks of apples have to be hauled away before the work can be done for the day. The smaller children are climbing down from the tops of the trees as the older adults finish moving the sacks to the shack that holds them. When I get out of here, I'm going to go for a walk in the night sky away from everyone. I watch as the small children search for their families, and I'm instantly filled with hatred. Hatred for my mother who left me when I was so young. I know it's not the children's fault, but I can't control how I feel right now. I remember what it was like the first day I climbed out of the orange tree. I looked around for my mother hoping to find her, but it was unsuccessful because she had ran away and left me with her brother. Anger surges through my veins as I pick the last sack of apples up and haul them to the shack. "Darius," I freeze in my tracks knowing the sound of this voice. I don't have to turn around to face him to know who he is. "you need to get home right now!" I wish he would leave me alone. I turn around and face him as a grin forms on my face. I look him in the eyes. "Haven't you learned?" I ask curiously. "I don't have to do what you tell me anymore. You got what you want from me, and you know I don't have to listen to you." I smirk as I stare at him. He looks at me like he would kill me, but I'm not afraid of death. I think death would be a special escape from this terrible world. "Your mother dropped you off with me, and I am in charge of you. If you don't do what I say, you'll regret it!" "You're so stupid. I don't think you'll ever learn." I toss the sack of apples into the shack, and I turn to walk away. I don't want to cause a scene right in front of everyone including the peacekeepers. I don't want to do anything that can get me executed. (Whoever thinks being being executed is fun, is completely out of their mind.) I walk away from the shack not looking back. My uncle is yelling behind me, but I ignore what he's saying. I'll show him. I'll make him wish he was never born. "Darius!" I keep walking not wanting to talk to him. I know that if I ignore him long enough, he'll leave me alone. I reach the edge of the orchards, and I walk past them leaving him in the dust. I walk until I can't hear anyone behind me. I look around to make sure I'm alone, and I sit down on the ground. The grass is dry, hard, and crunchy. The color isn't green anymore it's a brown color. Normally, I would lay down like I did when I was growing up, but I have no reason now. I just want to sit here and pretend I don't exist. I don't want to be here anymore, but I would never find my mother then. I have to find her now that I know she's alive. I will find her and make her pay for what she did. She thought she could return to my life like everything was fine, but it's not, and I will not allow her back in that easily. "Don't try to find me because you'll wish you never met me." Narration A2A283 Thoughts BBAA77 Hearing DDDD99 Speech FFFFDD Other EEBB66

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[arx!!]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: f9f5dc; -webkit-border-radius:65px 65px 0px 0px; width:500px] ◊ { l i l a h - a d é l a ï d e . t h e r o u x } ◊ I love the colors in the sky as the sun sets. Purples and reds and yellows and oranges and blues (because the sky is always blue you know) and it's like your own personal rainbow every single night. And then right afterward, the angels sprinkle their special dust over the black sky and the night that is supposed to be so scary is illuminated with sparkling stars. Who could possibly hate stars? My mommy and I used to sit at the window in my bedroom (it's a circle - I learned that from her too.) and look up at the sky each night. She would sing to me and we would wrap ourselves up in a blanket and stare out of that little window and just wait. Sometimes my eyes would stray from the sky and to the ground where the fireflies were always dancing and blinking in the tall grass. Wait, wait, wait. Sing, sing, sing. Dance, dance, dance. Blink, blink, blink. Sometimes mom would finish her singing and we wouldn't see one. Sometimes we saw one, two, three in just a single night. But when we did see one, we would cross our fingers, scrunch our noses, and close our eyes and silently make a wish. "Always make wishes one the falling stars, Lilah, baby." Mommy once told me, petting my hair and kissing the back of my head. "You never know when one might be a falling angel coming to grant a wish." I still wait at the window, even though I am the only one wrapped up in the blanket now and sometimes I miss the falling stars because I get so caught up in the dancing and blinking of the fireflies. One day that falling star might just be mommy falling to Earth to grant me my wish. My only wish. "Please oh falling star / Let me hold Mommy's hand once. / Once is all I ask." So far my wish hasn't come true, but it will. I know it will. All wishes come true. But tonight, I will not be in my room to stare out the window and make that wish. I'm going out tonight. (And no, not with a boy. They have cooties y'know.) It's that special night that comes once a month when the moon is big and bright in the sky. I've learned and memorized the name of each one in each month. It's June - the Strawberry Moon. It's my favorite moon, named after my favorite fruit ever, and I can't wait to dance and twirl with the fireflies tonight. I twirl across my room, letting my hands float and flutter in the air, like I know all the ballerinas at the Capitol and in the higher District's do. (I know if I lived there I would be a ballerina.) I snatch up my special firefly catching net and throw a satchel over my shoulder, shoving as many mason jars into it as I possibly can. I want to catch as much light as possible tonight. When I start to twirl again, balancing on my toes as best I can, the jars in my bag chink, clink, chink, clink, and I giggle a little. It makes me feel like a princess, all this chink-clinking, like I am toasting everyone in a big ballroom or my jewelry is clinking together. I think I would make a good princess. Mommy always thought I would, too. I've seen them on TV sometimes when daddy doesn't know I'm in the room. They wear their crowns and dress in nice clothes and one of the newest princesses even had a tiger! Sometimes there are princes on TV, too. They are always so handsome and strong looking. But I've always liked the princesses better - they just seem nicer to me. But I don't know how to become a princess just yet, so I will just settle for pretend. Besides, who would catch the fireflies if I were off somewhere faraway being the princess? I climb down the ladder from the attic and then run down the stairs, counting the steps as I go. Twenty-two. It never changes. I run past where dad is already asleep on the couch and burst out the door where the sun is still sinking in the sky. I start to run, over the rolling hills, through the fields of endless crops, all the way to the orchards. The orchards are the best for firefly hunting with the fireflies hiding in the trees, blinking and making them glow like giant magical wands, making me feel like I am walking through a land of lights and glowing and lights. I start to slow to a walk as I see the trees getting closer and a begin to hum. Hum, skip, slash of my net through the dry, crumbling grass. Grasshoppers hop with nearly every step I take, but I can't catch them now, not with the fireflies beginning to blink. That's when I am caught a little off guard. Usually no one is outside at night like I am. (They all go back home and wish upon a falling star from their own windows I guess.) But this boy is just sitting in the grass, his face contorted in a way that makes me think he is either upset or needs a hug. Mommy always said that a hug can solve all problems. I start to walk slower now as I get closer to him, his back to me. My ballerina toes drift silently over the ground, even in the crunchy grass. I am feather light, smoother than smooth, graceful and prepared. Some boys ... they laugh and pull my hair and tease me about my "dirty" clothes. I think they are just trying to make conversation sometimes, maybe they are even a little jealous of me and my special abilities. I stop a little ways away from him, smiling a little, trying not to giggle before I nudge the back of his shoulder with my net and taking another step away - just to be safe. "Night is coming, see? / Fireflies will soon blink and dance. / Want to catch some, too?" I reach into my bag and hold up my extra net. It's mommy's old net, the handle a bit bent and a small tear in the net, but I can always use hers if he doesn't like it. I smile, but not too big because Mommy says that sometimes if you smile just a bit too big people think you are crazy. So I keep it small, waiting, just like I wait for the falling stars in the sky. lost in the city of angels down in the comfort of strangers i found myself in the fire burnt hills in the land of a billion lights

[Knuckles]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: 2A232D; border:8D7C96 solid 4px; width: 500px; height: 181px; padding: 0 0 0 0px; border-radius: 30px 30px 30px 30px;][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true] Darius Faux It's been a rough day, and the sweat soaked shirt is sticking to my back to prove it. I've been working all day long with little to eat, but what's the purpose? I don't need to eat. I'm strong enough with out it. I don't need the help of the higher powers. I can live by myself and not die. I know what I'm capable of, and I don't need help from anyone. I never had any help growing up, and I don't need any help now. My shaggy hair is sticking to the side of my head. It's sticky with sweat. The salty taste of the sweat coats the inside of my mouth making me feel very thirsty. The sweat is bitter. I raise a hand to wipe the sweat off my brow with the help of a gentle breeze. It's a nice night to be outside all alone away from everyone. I can allow the moon to guide me. The grass is hard and rough, but I remain in the seated position just staring at the sky lost in thoughts. I wish I was four again. My mother would still be the loving mother she was. I would be happy, and I wouldn't have to worry about a stupid uncle. If I close my eyes, I can see myself walking with my mother holding her hand as I grin from ear to ear. The look on my face is priceless. My mother looks so happy and unchanged. The images quickly change to the day she left me alone forever. The look on her face has changed so much. She's no longer smiling; instead, she's crying. Tears falling down her face as she says goodbye. A promise that was broken. I quickly realized that promises were made to be broken. It must be right since that's what my mother did. I hate her for leaving me. I wish she wasn't my mother. She's not my mother. She'll never be my mother. I don't need a mother in my life. I've lived this long without her. I don't need her now. I'll never need her. I can feel my heart pounding rapidly under my chest as the anger surges through my veins. I don't want to be angry, but that's all I know how to feel anymore. I don't know what it's like to be happy and innocent. I've turned into the child my mother wanted me to be. A hateful, uncontrollable, lying person that never existed before my uncle got a hold of me. I remember the look on his face when he took me in. The evil grin that spread across his face. The look of hatred in his eyes. I wish I was old enough to recognize the look. I wouldn't have gone in. I wouldn't have gotten close to him, but now it's too late. I can't change what's been done, but I can make him pay. I let out a small sigh when I feel something jab into my shoulder. What in the hell was that? I think to myself quietly. I wasn't expecting anyone to be out here, and I immediately think it's my uncle. I stare into the night sky trying to keep myself calm. My hands form into fist prepared to turn around and destroy him, but what happens next isn't what I imagined. "Night is coming, see? Fireflies will soon blink and dance. Want to catch some, too?" It's not my uncle who's behind me, and I allow myself to relax. The voice belongs to a girl. A girl I haven't heard speak before. It isn't surprising as district 11 is huge. I can't imagine any other district being larger than this. I slowly turn myself around to face her, to get a better look at her. Catching fireflies? Is this some kind of sick joke? I hold in a laugh, but it comes out as a strange sound like someone being punched in the stomach. I can't think of any reason why I would want to catch fireflies. I think it would make me look stupid. (An eighteen year old male catching fireflies wouldn't be a pleasant site.) She reaches in her bag and removes another net. She already had one in her hand. That's what she must have used to get my attention. Oh boy. Maybe she's trying to be nice? I can't be mean to her she's not like my mother. "I've never caught fireflies before." I try to keep the harshness out of my voice, but it's hard to do. I've never been good at controlling how I feel. I just hope it wasn't too harsh. "I don't think I would do very well." Narration A2A283 Thoughts BBAA77 Hearing DDDD99 Speech FFFFDD Other EEBB66

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[arx!!]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: f9f5dc; -webkit-border-radius:65px 65px 0px 0px; width:500px] ◊ { l i l a h - a d é l a ï d e . t h e r o u x } ◊ I don't like to tell too many people about my special powers, but sometimes I just can't help it. The kids at school are always asking about it, and why wouldn't they? It's a supernatural talent. And I'm really proud of it and not afraid to boast (only a little bit though because mommy always said not to) if someone just happens to mention it. But of course, having super human powers comes at a cost. When I mention it to daddy he starts to yell and says no one can talk to animals, especially an idiot like me, and even if the animals could somehow talk, they certainly wouldn't be talking to a girl like me. He says mean words, but I know he loves me. He's just a little bit jealous is all. And I guess I would be too if I were him, so I don't mind his yelling too often and I make sure to keep my boasting to a bare minimum around him. It's just easier that way. But if mommy were still here, i know she would be asking me all sorts of questions about how my powers worked and what the animals had to say. She was the one who helped me first discover my abilities after all. And I can remember the whole thing crystal clear. I was just six years old. It was a normal day, the sun shining bright and the birds chirping melodies. The dew on the grass was twinkling, and as my rain boots strode through the grass, I could've sworn that my rubber boots were turning into shimmering glass right in front of me as I walked. Mommy and I were on our morning walk, nothing too special besides the fact that mommy was still down here on earth to hold my hand, but at the time, nothing was different than it normally was. But then mommy turned down a new path, one we had never been down before. "Mommy!" I exclaimed, dropping her hand and running out in front of her, walking backwards so I could look up at her. "Mommy this is the wrong way. We are we going this way?" She smiled down at me then, scooping up my hand again and twirling me around with a smile. "This isn't the wrong way, Lilah-Adélaïde." she cooed, soft and sweet. (She always called me by my full name, never a nickname.) And I looked up at her again, quizzical. "This is a surprise. You have to wait an see." she said, and although I wasn't exactly sure what a surprise was at the time, I knew I was the best at waiting in all of Panem, so I preoccupied myself by swatting at the dandelions in the ditch on the side of the path and watching the white, puff fairies dance in the wind. When we had finally gotten to where we were going, I was sticky with sweat and we had stopped lots of times so that I could pick the wild berries that I saw. Mommy stopped and got kneeled in front of me then to look me in the eyes and she smiled with a little bit of a chuckle. Berry juice was all across my face and I'm sure I looked like some sort of pig. At least, that's what all the teachers said. ("Little girls don't eat like slobs. What's wrong with you?") But mommy never thought there was anything wrong with it or wiped it all away with her sleeve, so I figured it couldn't be that bad. I smiled back at her then and she grabbed a squished berry out of my hand and threw it in her mouth, despite my bit of protest. "Alright, you ready?" she asked, looking at me with eyes that were nearly identical to mine. And although I still wasn't quite sure what we were doing I nodded anyway. Because the excitement in her eyes was always so contagious that no matter what, I couldn't help but feel just as excited as she was when we went on little adventures like this. She stood then, kissed me on the top of the head an grabbed my hand once more as we made our way just a bit further down the path to a big red barn. Mommy made me say, "Hi," to a man with a curly mustache and a long grey beard and I shook his hand, all rough and callused. They talked for a little while longer but I didn't catch much of what they were saying as I was watching a chicken peck at the ground nearby. But then the old man slid the huge door on the barn open and I couldn't help but just stare. I ran right in, right past the man (who I now know to be Old Man Rollinger) without waiting for mommy to lead me in. It was dusty and dirty and smelled of nothing but straw and hay and I had to stop to pause in my amazement to sneeze, but it was just the most beautiful creatures I had ever seen. Now most kids are who see a work horse like that for the first time are frightened by their size and long hair and tail and the way their nostrils flare when they huff at you. But not me. I walked right up to that horse, sticking my hand up as high as I could to try and reach his nose. Of course I couldn't reach and mommy had to come lift my up, but I was brave enough to do it on my own if I would've been tall enough. Mr. Rollinger told me his name was Juniper and that he was the strongest, best working horse in all of Panem. And when I touched his nose, it was like velvet. I started to talk to him then, just whispering his name a little, and then I heard him. He talked back. I squealed then and clung to mommy, excitement making me feel like I was going to fall into a fantasy world. "Would you like to feed him?" Mr. Rollinger asked and I nodded vigorously as he chuckled and placed a sugar cube in my hand. I frowned then I my eyebrows squiggled because I couldn't figure out why he was feeding me, but I didn't ask any questions as I threw the sugar cube in my mouth, smiled, and said, "Thank you sir, but could we feed Juniper now?" They both laughed and I was given another sugar cube and told to keep my hand flat and just put it right under his nose and he would eat it. And as his nostrils flared and his lips slobbered on my hand as he sucked up the sugar cube, I knew it was the beginning of a long lasting friendship. Juniper died recently, and I guess that is why I am here and not with Juniper right now and just talking to him about the fireflies. He loved fireflies. He said sometimes they would come in the stable and blink at him and they reminded him of stars. So I guess tonight is not only tradition, but a sort of way to say goodbye to my best friend. The boy turns to look at me then and I think he looks a little bit excited. "I've never caught fireflies before." he says, his voice a bit like daddy's is when he is jealous of my powers. "I don't think I would do very well." I shake my head at him. "Teaching I can do. / Bet you are a natural. / Here! Here! Take a net." I grab his hand and place my net, the one without a hole, in his hand before extending my empty hand out to him. My smile is big now, no way I could stop it. "My name is Lilah. / It is so great to meet you. / Hope we can be friends." And I hope he takes my hand, if only to have a friend to be with tonight so that I am not alone with nothing but my own memories. lost in the city of angels down in the comfort of strangers i found myself in the fire burnt hills in the land of a billion lights

[Knuckles]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: 2A232D; border:8D7C96 solid 4px; width: 500px; height: 181px; padding: 0 0 0 0px; border-radius: 30px 30px 30px 30px;][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true] Darius Faux I stare at the girl that stands in front of me holding two nets. I slowly run my fingers through my hair trying to get it off my face. My hair is sticking to my face from the sweat that is drying causing me to be chilled to the bone. Chills run from my spine causing me to twitch at the most random moments. I hope I wasn't to harsh. I'm used to speaking towards my uncle. My voice is harsh towards him as all the hatred I built up for him spews through my veins. I hate him for everything he put me through. My heart was shattered into millions of pieces. Someone managed to put all the pieces back together, but it wasn't the same. I was changed forever. The innocence that once was inside of me changed forever. I'm not that five year old boy I was when my mother dropped me off at his house. I was never one to talk to other people. I was kept locked away in a room by my uncle for many years of my life. I didn't get to make friends. I never had the opportunity because I wasn't allowed out of the house. I was supposed to go to school, work in the orchards, and come straight home without talking to a single person. My uncle didn't want me to make friends because he was afraid I would tell them what he was doing to me, and tell them I would. If I could go back and change it, I would have made a friend. I would have told the peacekeepers what my uncle was doing to me, and I would make sure he got arrested for it because he doesn't deserve to be the one raising me. I was young. I had to make him happy. I thought it would bring my mother back, but it didn't. I almost killed him, and I would kill him if I had the chance, but for now, I don't want to be killed. I was five when my mother left. I didn't know she was going to be leaving for such a long time. I remember everything about the last day I was with her. I walked down the ragged roads with my hand in her hand. I wanted to ask her why she had tears running down her face, but I knew it was best to not ask her. It's not worth having to listen to her cry because it only makes me cry.

[/i][/color] "Mother, where are we going?" I ask hoping she would be nice enough to answer me, and not yell at me like she normally did. "You are going to my brother's house. You are going to spend a couple days with him."[/i][/color] (A couple days turned into thirteen years of torture.)

"I promise I'll come back for you. I promise it'll only be a couple days. Nothing else to worry about. I promise he will take wonderful care of you." I don't understand why she made that promise, and I never will know because when I see her again, she's going to wish she never made that promise. I'll make her wish she never returned to find me. It's a miracle my uncle is still alive, but I have to save the torture of him so my mother can come running to save him. A small smile forms on my face. I can see my uncle's face when he accepted me in. (If I could slap him across the face at this moment I would. I would slap him so hard he wouldn't have messed with me the way he did.) "Hey, is this the young man you promised to bring me?" He asks with an evil grin on his face. "I hope he is because I've been waiting for him for three weeks now. You promised three weeks ago."

"Yes, this is him. Sorry it took me so long. I had to wait for the right moment, and this is the right moment." A long moment of silence passed before anyone spoke, and I broke the silence. "Mother, what's going on?" I ask very confused about what's happening. I didn't understand. "Darius, I am going away for a few days. That's all. He has agreed to watch over you while I'm gone. Don't worry, it won't be forever."[/i][/color] (It was all lies. I know it was lies, and I'll never forgive either of them. They deserve to die.)

I shake my head trying to get the memories to leave. I usually don't think like this, but this girl that's standing in front of me forced them to come to my mind. I don't know why, yet I won't hold a grudge against her. She's just trying to be nice. That's all. Is my mother right that all women aren't bad or is that just another lie? I don't believe anything she says anymore, but this girl standing in front of me doesn't look mean. She looks like she just wants a friend, and I need a friend. Just try to be polite. She's nothing like mother. I sit there staring at her in silence hoping I didn't scare her away. I don't want to scare her away because she seems so nice.

"Teaching I can do. Bet you are a natural. Here! Here! Take a net." She places a net in my hand. It feels awkward holding this, but I don't protest. What in the world is happening to me? She extends her other hand out towards me and I take it unsure of what to do, so I give it a shake before getting to my feet. "My name is Lilah. It is so great to meet you. Hope we can be friends." The smile on her face is huge, and I don't have the heart in me right now to break it. "I could use some teaching." I chuckle. "I'm Darius Faux. It's nice to meet you too. I would love to be friends." I force a smile to my face to make myself seem welcoming.

Narration A2A283
Thoughts BBAA77
Hearing DDDD99
Speech FFFFDD
Other EEBB66

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1017 Words