EDEN ANGELIS // D9 // FIN

[Onyx]

eden angelis
fourteen
female
district nine

Carlos Angelis though it was funny when, after becoming involved with his profession, his daughters seemed to change physically and mentally to fit it. While her twin sister, Harmon, became more self-obsessed, eloquent and boastful, it was Eden who truly began to take her new found responsibility to heart, and to head. They had been a poor family far before Carlos’ generation, but it was only when he lost his dedicated older brother, the main source of income for their family of eight, to the Hunger Games that the then-nine year old felt the full force of Lower-Middle District Poverty. Carlos often speculated that even the starving survivors of the District Thirteen annihilation must be better off than he was growing up, and it was so difficult for him that he decided, when he met Eden and Harmon’s mother, Luisa, that he would find a sustainable form of employment that would never see his family starving again.

For as long as Eden can remember, their shabby house, with its graffitied front and water-stained slates, has been absolutely clear from rodents. She frequently has to exercise caution when coming out of her bedroom, rubbing her narrow blue eyes with square palms, so she doesn’t tread on one of many medieval-looking rat traps that line the landing. Eden quickly became accustomed to that routine – she is usually comfortable and calm in new situations, no matter how daunting – and now stretches her spindly legs into the memorised safe spots of the floor without extensive consideration. It’s her habit to see to breakfast before anything else in her day, because her love for physical activity and being outdoors requires almost five times what her picky sister eats at mealtimes. The slightly pathetic pantry is left unlocked overnight and in the morning nothing is ever nibbled at or stolen, and Eden usually takes without checking for bite-marks first, as many of her neighbours do. Her mother has always been particularly proud that Eden was never one to fuss or complain, but also worries that Eden’s unquestioning compliance may be a sign that she has a problem elsewhere in her life.

The truth is quite the contrary. At school, Eden happily brawls with the boys and patiently plays dolls with the girls. She’s fair in judgement and speaks maturely to both teachers and students. Achieving average-to-high grades, it’s almost as if there’s nothing conspicuous or outstanding about her at all.

However, after school, when she runs down to the beginning of the factory strip to meet her father, her whole temperament completely changes.

While her home is clear from the disease-saturated, chemical-bloated rats that she’s always warned of in Health classes, Eden understands that the rest of the District is not at all the same. She was taught that the first time she asked about the little blue seeds that her father kept planting around the corners of room, and what they would grow into. Then, Carlos explained in detail what exactly the ‘seeds’ did to the animals that ate them, and how those seeds were the only difference between the Angelis family and the Dreyfus family next door, with their two boys with fleas and one baby dying from a rabid bite. Eden didn’t understand what her father meant at the time, but one thing she did realise was that Carlos was a man who knew what he was talking about. And then Eden decided that when she was older she wanted to be just like him.

Carlos first became a rat-catcher when Luisa knew she was pregnant, having finally found a form of work that he knew would always be in demand. It didn’t pay well, but he was so busy that soon he was earning as much as any factory boy. It gave him, his wife and their new arrivals enough to live content. Eden and Harmon were a month premature, and as a result were quite a bit smaller than the other babies of the time. Eden, with her ugly down-turned mouth that gave the impression of negativity and overthought, grew fast, leaving Harmon behind in terms of weight, height and motor skills. She burbled inquisitively in her high voice at all new things and rarely cried or wanted attention. By the time she was seven, she was already tall, and strong, for her age, with thick, pink lips and a thin, rectangular face, and her father had deemed her healthy and smart enough to let her get involved with his job.

There isn’t much for a child, or young adult, as Eden now prefers, to do in the rat-catching business, so Eden’s first official title was that of ‘Lantern Manner’. Eagerly, she would scamper after her father as he crept through alleyways in his long brown coat, both pairs of keen eyes searching for any sign of a nest. Eden held the lantern as high as she could to light the area, her long, skinny arm extended above her head, shining on her matted brown hair. She could notice any tiny sign of movement, although she wasn’t able to discern what was a twitching tail or glinting eye, and what was only trash. So, knowing better than to disturb her father in his element, she kept her straight teeth gritted and her lips pressed shut, and waited for his direction.

Eden’s determination to prove her worth was known well amongst the boys of her neighbourhood, who she frequently tried to hang around with when she was too excitable for her sister’s friends. With them, she managed to keep up her cool façade, but everyone could tell that underneath she was craving any sign of acceptance. Never would she dare of opening up about this to her father, or mother, or any other adult around her, but Carlos’ experiences in a large family taught him that gratifying a child was one of the most important things you could do for them. Therefore, he staged official promotions for her, from Lantern Manner to Pellet Bearer, to Bush Shaker – her favourite of all the tasks, as she had to scare the rats out of their next so her father could trap them. Finally, Eden ascended to a position that was, in her own eyes, worthy of respect.

Rat-catching wasn’t a game for her anymore, once she was allowed to carry the duffel bag full of her father’s knives and traps. She finally understood what having a responsibility meant, and clutched the bag to her thin frame as if her life depended on its presence. Her father awarded her with a somewhat shabby replica of his brown coat, and she wears it on every job. Steely eyed, almost twitching with anticipation, she follows after her father as he goes about his tasks as much as time between school and dinner allows.

No one knows just how attached she has become to Carlos’ job except the professional himself. Employers assume she’s just a tagalong – a pet – and her mother never pays much thought to how dirty Eden is when she comes back every evening, or how late she’s out in the first place. Sometimes, when Luisa or Harmon are anxious about the man of the house getting back, Eden gives them a knowing smile and promises he’s doing something worthwhile. Eden sees rat-catching as her and her father’s own private joke, even though he publicises it to get work. It’s the only path she can imagine herself following, not caring about what anyone else thinks of it. And Carlos is pleased that Eden doesn’t judge what he does as dirty or degrading. Deep down, he’s thrilled – that his daughter, who he feared so much for when he was starving and his work was just taking off – is so excited by what he does. He wouldn’t dare admit to himself that it could just be the result of the sheltered life that his little girls have lived.

[cass]

omg stop with the perfect writing, pls :3

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