time won't fly | pixie + bree

[D6f Carmen Cantelou [aza]]

pixie ruined | district five | 69th hunger games

The training centre has a unique buzz emitted from each of the tributes that reinforces the fact only one of the twenty-four of us will win. I'm in the same room as the victor of the 69th annual Hunger Games. For all I know, it could be me, yet I'm beginning to highly doubt that.

I look around me and study their faces. Some of them look like they're completely ready: born to fight in the games. Others, however, create an air of shyness and take a more reserved approach to the stations. I catch sharp eye contact with a girl and quickly look away. Who is she? I can't say that I recognise her face from watching the Reaping. She must be one of those tributes who just slips into the pack and is forgotten about. I bet she is one of the first to go.

Out of curiosity, I move over to one of the training stations. It's knife throwing. It takes me only a minute from watching some of the other tributes succeed with flying colours to realise that I'll be awful at this. Nevertheless, I pick one up and hold it with a tight grasp. A couple fingers from my left hand dance over to the metal blade and run along the cool edge. It's a sour weapon, but it sickly sweet. It's one of those things that can hide amongst the crowd and not be seen, but once it emerges, there's no stopping what it can do.

I feel the weight of it in my hand before moving in front of the target. It's a reasonable distance which worries me. I'll look like a fool if I miss the target. I decide to stand side on to it, and throw the knife from further back and thrust it through the air and past my face. I line everything up and close my eye in hopes of achieving the perfect precision I'm after. With a quick flick of the wrist, the knife soars through the air and I exhale a sigh of relief. I'm glad that bit is over.

It cascades around floppily, before hitting the human-shaped target in the right thigh. I shrug and assume it's good for a first try, but as I look around me I can feel the atmosphere change and I watch as the clouds of embarrassment set in. Some of the upper district tributes were laughing. I'm guessing it was at my poor attempt, yet I'd prefer the true answer to be something else.

I walk away from the station, deciding that one throw is enough. As my feet pull me towards the next station, I notice another girl there. I can't tell whether it is the same one I caught earlier - they look the same from behind. As I gently move closer I realise that I'm in the presence of someone completely new in a station who's skill I'm entirely unfamiliar with. Knot-tying.

"Do you know how to do this?"

I say. I feel as if I've dropped a bombshell onto her. I send a silent prayer, hoping she is one of the few who isn't into all this fighting nonsense and is one of the tributes who is intelligent. She looks intelligent. Her face is distinct yet is able to blend in effortlessly. I wonder what she thinks of me. I look her up and down quickly and judge her in my head, but my thoughts are shattered when she opens her mouth and replies to my earlier question.

TIME WON'T FLY

it's like i'm paralyzed by it.

ghosty
❤

[ghosty]

B R E E F A W N

The station that I found myself in had to be both the easiest to grasp, but the hardest to follow effectively. Knot-tying. Despite my understanding of what knot's are and how to tie the real basic's that Momma and Dad showed me, like tying a shoelace, or similar. The instructor, although he's trying his best, know's that my affinity is not with this station, and most probably will never be so. Considering that in the room that I am situated, are people that know how to kill and have no qualms over doing so, and possibly 6 years older than me, the chance that I'll be the one to see my parents in 2 weeks time is completely minimal. I'll be dying in the first few seconds, position 24.

And a person walks behind me, and for some reason, instead of the tensing that I'm used to, I relax. Not uptight, and worried that they'll hurt me, but calm. And her voice touches my ears, like the shallow breeze of the air around the training center. "Do you know how to do this?" her voice says, and I almost laugh straight at her. I turn around to face her, and I say with a chuckle, "What, knot-tying? I'd be lucky if I could tie anything more complicated than a shoelace." And that is the utter truth.

She seems polite, especially compared to some of the others that I've seen around. Most definitely more polite than Jordan is to me and Saffron, and Mace, and everyone else. "I'm Bree, by the way. District 10. Female." I turn to go back to the table, and glare at the piece of rope on the table, up in some failed knot with some real complicated name.  I say to the instructor, "How do you tie a noose knot? They used to do it to hang animals up at the ranch." And his deft little fingers show me how to do it step by step. And the most surprising thing; it actually worked!  I turn back to the girl behind me. "Do you want to have a go at this?"

[D6f Carmen Cantelou [aza]]

pixie ruined | district five | 69th hunger games

She turns around to me and I finally get a good look at her face. I still don't recognise it. Perhaps I missed the Reaping where it showed her being picked. Maybe I was floating in and out of daydream and caught slight glimpses. 

"What, knot-tying? I'd be lucky if I could tie anything more complicated than a shoelace."

She's funny and I like that. People who can make the best out of a bad situation are the best types of people. I'd like to think myself as one of those, though I'm not entirely sure I could label myself that when I've shown weakness the whole way through this process. Process. Can I even call it that?

I let out a brief snigger and shake my head slightly. This girl is honest, yet has already shown a weakness. I can't complain and be a hypocrite. It was only minutes ago that I tried to throw a knife and completely failed at it. Sure, she may not be good at kn0t-tying, but there's got to be something she's good at. Everyone has a special talent. 

"I'm Bree, by the way. District 10. Female."

Bree. Bree. It still doesn't ring a bell, no matter how many times I say it, with expression or without. I wonder if she's proud to plonk the "District 10, female" label onto herself. I hate mine, yet I'm willing to flaunt it if it'll help me survive. 

I turn my attention back to the station and watch the instructor tie various types of knots. My eyes are strained as I'm told to follow the end of the rope. I don't know how I'm meant to follow it when his fingers are moving with such speed. It makes everything a complete blur, resulting in confusion. Ugh. I wish they made it easier.

The girl says something and it slips my mind. I'm still trying to work out how he tied the previous knot. I quickly realise that he's moving onto yet another knot. Great. I watch his fingers and try to follow his instructions again, just in case I''m asked to show how it's done. I have a little more success, but still end up wondering how he did it.  

"Do you want to have a go at this?"

Her words flow out quickly and I'm left struggling for a response. Yes, I do. I want to learn - I have to learn how to do this. It could be crucial to my survival. But do I really, really want to have a go? Not really. It'd only give the other tributes a reason to think less of me. If they can even think that low.

"I guess I could try."

My face remains blank and the two words slip out from a tiny gap between my lips easily. 

"I'm Pixie Ruined. District Five."

I drop "female" from the end of my sentence, because I hope people can identify my gender from my appearance. If not, I'd be baffled and begin to question their intelligence. 

Why did I agree to having a go at this? I find a piece of rope before me and I hold both ends in each of my hands firmly. I stare between the two, wondering what the heck I'm meant to do now.  I look to Bree in hopes she can provide some support. Does she even know how to do this?

I sure hope so.

TIME WON'T FLY

it's like i'm paralyzed by it.

ghosty
❤