A New Life [Rade VT]

[Cato]

Orion Hammerfell

It doesn't seem real when I think about how much time has truly gone by since his cannon sounded. Since his face flashed through the sky. Since his body returned home. One of the axes he wielded duct taped to his body. I don't quite understand why he'd do that. Still I took the axe from his body and now I keep it at home. As a grim reminder of what the Capitol took from me. A brother. He may have lost his way for a number of years, but he was still my brother. You don't break a bond between blood. He so much desired the fame and glory that came with winning the games. So confident. So strong. All of that didn't matter in the cold. All of that clothing restricted his frightening speed and unmatched power. Even so my brother and his allies performed beyond expectations. Getting everyone to the top ten. The eventual victor and five others ran into his alliance. Even one as strong as Mason could not overcome the numbers. How could he with the cold weather, clothing, and multiple people swiping at him. There's no doubt in my mind that he could have climbed to safety.

But he didn't.

He chose to die.

Which is what I don't get at all. Its not like him to turn down a fight that much is true, but he could have recovered. Stayed on top the pillar and kill anyone. Instead he chose a path that led to his death. His concern must have been with how he'd look in front of everyone. A strong warrior to the death. He'd rather die than be branded a coward. How could he do otherwise considering the eleven he got. My brother was never one to hold back. Katelyn Persimmon. Victor from District Eleven. I should be bitter. I should be enraged at the fact her victory means my brother dead. Only I can't bring myself to hate someone who didn't have a hand in his death. Nearly everyone had a hand in killing except her. Why? Only she can tell me. Silly as it might be, I want to find out just what kept her from joining in the mass attack on him.

I watch as she's standing on the stage on the district square, and it takes all I have to listen to her talk. The same speech over and over only with a few changes. A few differences. The names. The people. Everything changes rapidly. Year after year, but this time I'm standing where many families have stood before, and I know his image is behind me watching me, and I have to be strong because it's what he would want, yet it takes a lot of effort. Once her speech concludes, I stand there staring. Maybe she'll talk to me. Maybe I should just go talk to her. Maybe I should forget it and go away, but the question still rests heavily on my mind. I wait for a moment allowing everyone to leave before making my way towards her. Hopefully she doesn't leave. Hopefully nobody makes her leave because this is very important to me. More important than anyone could ever imagine. "A word please if you have the time."

[charade]

[googlefont="Ubuntu:400"]

Katelyn

Persimmon

District two was one of the least welcoming districts on the tour in Katelyn's opinion. If there had been any applause, she certainly hadn't heard it, nor did she expect any. District two was a place known for its brutal victors, and though there hadn't been one since Cricket, judging by all the pictures of Mason and Hedvig that adorned everything, she suspected that they had already made up their minds about who should have won. Not that she could blame them. While she had never interacted with Hedvig, it was Mason who had reinforced her ideas about life in career districts.

Judging by how many of the teenagers looked like they could kill her or that they wanted to, she figured that they had trained with the fallen at one point or another. She got the speech out without much difficulty, having spit it out nearly a dozen times already, most of the time with no alterations. The hammerfells and the fabres that stared at her from the raised podiums were unreadable. Katelyn tried not to stare at them, instead looking at the large screen with Mason's face on it that glared hard in her direction. Even in death he was imposing. The crowd started to disperse and Katelyn sighed in relief, wanting to get through one and twelve as soon as possible.

"A word please. If you have the time." Katelyn's head whipped around to see a boy. A boy that had been on one of the podiums. She glanced at Fintermaelon and he mouthed that the train wouldn't be leaving for a good forty minutes. Time enough to talk with one or more people that wanted to. Katelyn sighed and resigned herself to it, telling herself that there were only two districts to go before she was home. Back among the familiar. But for the moment...

"You must be Mason's brother. He mentioned you in the training center."she said softly.

made by anzie

[Cato]

Orion Hammerfell

I expected something different. She says my brother mentioned me in the training center. While I expected some sort of interaction between them due to the training, I didn't expect myself to be brought up. All my brother has cared about for the past few years was the games. Nothing but the games. What has stung about him being buried in the ground? That I didn't know how much. He changed in front of my eyes. Slowly but surely the man I looked up to disappeared. Lost forever to the careers. They sicken me. Wanting to train for the sport of killing.

Yet he cared enough to see me before leaving.

I knew that some small part of my brother was still there. Struggling to be himself and not what he was told to be. That's when his training score was given. Next came the interview. Once again the brutal monster came back in full force. An eleven? One of the highest numbers given in a long time. Ripred knows what he did to get such a number. Any number of things could have been done. In the end his eleven did more to harm him than good. Nearly everyone attacked him in the end. All but his allies and Katelyn.

Why?

That had been one question that stuck in my mind. Six people standing against him. Most struck him down. Only the girl from six didn't attack and probably due to him being dead before given the chance. Katelyn? Not once did she appear to look in my brothers way. I have to find out why. Knowing my brother, he must have made himself a target in their eyes. Not Katelyn.

I look at the axe I'm carrying. I put it behind my back before approaching the victor to show I mean no harm. This axe while feeling foul and disgusting in my hands represents the only thing I have left of my brother. I'll treasure this for as long as I breathe. However long that might be. After walking a ways away, I turn toward Katelyn. No malice in my eyes. Only a burning desire to find out what I want to know.

"That's quite a shock. He cared only for the games. Thought he'd make himself a target. Evidently he did judging by the feast." The memory of his death too much to bear. Seeing him struck down by multiple people. A tear forms, but I wipe it away before addressing her once again. "You didn't attack him. Why?"

[charade]

[googlefont="Ubuntu:400"]

Katelyn

Persimmon

The resemblance was striking, perhaps mason had had less hair and more muscle, but she knew this was the brother that had been mentioned. If the games had taught her anything it was that the definition of a monster depended on who you asked. She believed that many of the tributes in the games were capable of doing monstrous things, yes. But that was to be expected in a fight to the death that only one person could walk away from. It was then that she noticed the boy was holding an axe. She tensed immediately, reaching to her side for where her bag of throwing hatchets should have been as a flood of images cascaded into her head.

Chaske falling to his knees as his bones cracked. The tiger leaping for her. Mason getting swarmed in the feast and collapsing, only to be joined by three others in as many moments as she threw her hatchets left and right. Perhaps he saw the discomfort on her face, because he removed the weapon from her line of sight. She breathed heavily, and took a step backwards. "He did care for than the games. I think he just didn't want people to know." she replied quietly, remembering the tantrum he had thrown by the first aid station.

"Before the arena...he approached me with an offer. If I fixed him up after fights, he'd protect me. I said no." she said in an even tone. She was aware that wasn't an answer to his question, but she doubted he'd like what she had to say. "He said that even so, he couldn't attack me. That I was too...good. Too nice. That I reminded him of you." As she said that, she took another step back and kept her eyes trained on the arm that was being held behind his back. She wasn't in the arena anymore, she reminded herself. If he attacked her the peacekeepers would step in. But if he was like her as Mason had said, it wouldn't come to that.

She hoped.

made by anzie

[Cato]

Orion Hammerfell

Her words about my brother approaching her for help didn't surprise me all that much. He surely saw something in her or he wouldn't have approached her at all. What does surprise me is what he said about Katelyn reminding him of myself. That my brother had any thoughts of me at all is the surprising part. Refusing to attack someone? Now that is a part of my brother I've not seen in many a year. I knew there was some kindness left in him. The fact that he showed it is the shocking bit.

She tenses up evidently seeing the axe as a reminder of her time in the arena. I feel the weapon's weight in my hands. The very weapon that's taken many lives be it muttation or human. Her tense expression leaves me one thing left to do. Get it out of reach and out of her sight. I turn around with a heavy heart and fling it in the opposite direction. A brief flashback of my brother killing the girl from twelve stabs at my heart. "Its all I have left of him. Even if it's a constant reminder of death. Somehow I feel like he's with me."

How could anyone kill another human?

I could never do it. Take another life that is. I'm from one of the career districts. I should be more like my brother. Thing is I don't want to nor will I ever become like him. Every human life is worth saving including those that lose their way. I'll step down if I ever am reaped for the games. There's plenty of bloodthirsty killers.

I however refuse to be one.

I turn around toward her again. She interacted with my brother. Saw in him some sort of good. Said that he cared for more than just the games but didn't want anyone to know. That's not like him. I'm glad at least someone knew the good inside of him. If only a small part that is. "He really said that? I.... don't know what to say. He was a monster here in two. Feared by many. Even I feared him."

[charade]

[googlefont="Ubuntu:400"]

Katelyn

Persimmon

The Hammerfell threw the ax away after noting her reaction, and Katelyn relaxed ever so slightly as she attempted to absorb his next words. True to her expectations, Mason had a reputation in two for being merciless. But for even his own brother to be afraid of him? Well, perhaps she understood that. "I was afraid of him too." By his own admission, he was a monster.

Katelyn had believed him. At least, for a time. As events wore on in the arena, she had come to the realization that everyone and anyone had the capacity to do terrible things. Most people were just never put in a situation where they had to. Most people rose above such inclinations. But career districts were different. They glorified such things. Or at least the majority of them appeared to.

"You asked me why I didn't attack him." she sighed, not really knowing the answer herself. And she knew he meant when she had a free shot, because trying to fight Mason one on one would have been suicide for any of the tributes. Rubbing at her face with her hands, she continued."Your brother's allies attacked Marc. Mason didn't. He never did anything to me or my allies. Was he a monster? Maybe. But I can't fault him for doing what he was bred to do." She took a deep breath before asking a question of her own. I killed three people because I had no choice. Does that make me a monster?" Her eyes didn't leave his and she wondered what she was searching for.

made by anzie

[Cato]

Orion Hammerfell

I don't know how to respond to her question. She's killed three people that there is no denying. Is the a monster for doing so? There's a difference between what she did. My brother? He killed only one person. He chose to do it. Trained for nearly half his life for the opportunity to kill people. Katelyn? It's not my place to judge her on the deaths of innocents. The one's she killed struck first. The girl from three swung at her. She only did what she had to in order to protect herself. The mad man from nine jumped her. As did the woman from seven.

Self defense.

That's all I can associate Katelyn with. Never from what I saw did she attack first. I didn't see any innocent from my brother or his pack. Always did they strike first when able. They were a menace. Not at all right. Katelyn is pure of heart. Mason had been full of malice and blood-thirst. I'll always miss my brother. Had he been here in Katelyn's place though, he would have killed so many more than he did.

I eye the axe off in the distance. Fresh tears forming in my eyes. There's no question about it. Katelyn is not a monster. I turn toward her to say as much. "You're not a monster. Not like most of the careers here in two. You killed three yes. You did it in self-defense. Not like my brother. He went into the games with the intent to kill. He relished the chance to end life. You are not like him. Not a monster in my eyes."

I can only begin to imagine the survivor's guilt she must be feeling. Of the twenty-four to go into that icy hell, she made it out alive. Nothing I or anyone else in Panem can change how she must feel. She asked me if she is a monster. I don't see a monster in front of me. What I see is a human full of pain and suffering. I only wish I could help in some way. After she leaves the district it'll be the last time we ever speak to one another. Not unless I myself am reaped. I'd follow in my brothers footsteps if that were to be the case. Dead and soon to be forgotten by all.

Except me.

[charade]

[googlefont="Ubuntu:400"]

Katelyn

Persimmon

It took awhile for the boy to formulate an answer. Long enough for Katelyn to get uncomfortable when his eyes started to water. But then he spoke. He said no. That she clearly had never wanted to kill people, even though she wound up having to. Mason had looked forward to the very idea. Katelyn watched the boy morosely, though she did not cry as she did when Diamond Nixton had given her the painting, she could feel the dam threatening to burst.

"In the end, Mason wasn't a monster in my eyes." she began as she remembered the first aid station again. "Just another victim of the games. I believe he was a victim of them long before he was reaped. I...hope he's at peace."she finished awkwardly. But she meant it. Though Mason had been a merciless career, she had seen a spark of the person he could have been, if only for a fleeting moment. He had deserved better.

They all did.

"It'll be off to the next part of this tour for me soon." she sighed. Never enough time. But she had learned that lesson well in the frozen hell of her arena. "What was your name?"If she learned anything in the district, it had to be that. To be able to put a name to the face of the kindred spirit in front of her. Another person that reminded her that though her road thus far had been a hard one, the rest of her life was still unwritten.  Fighting and killing would be a part of her forever. 


But it didn't have to be what defined her. 

made by anzie

[Cato]

Orion Hammerfell

I knew this conversation wouldn't last forever, but somewhere inside I didn't want her to leave. She knew him. She saw him on his last day. She had a chance that I didn't. I was stuck at home watching from the screen where she was there in person. I want her to stay here by my side and tell me stories of my brother's final journey throughout the arena because in a strange way it brings me peace, but soon it'll be me again. Just me. Alone wondering what life would be like if he returned home. I know one thing. Life won't be the same without Mason. He won't pester me to train along with him or anything anymore because he can't. And it hurts deep inside. It's a wound I have no idea how to heal.

My name. The most well known person in Panem wants to know my name. I'm just another person that'll pass by in her life never to be seen or heard from again. Out of all the people in Panem, Cricket, Julian, Opal, Colgate, Patricia, any other victor someone this girl should associate with wants to know me. I'm just another person. Someone who has no meaning. Someone that she'll forget before she arrives at the next district. Why not ask the name of a victor? Someone she'll remember for her entire life. I would ask for their name, but she's different. She asked for mine. My name instead of those she should want to know. Maybe she's different from them all. "Orion. The one who's rejected the career lifestyle." I say the words with a weak smile. Don't think anyone understands my decision to do that yet here I am.

I sigh. Memories of my brother flashing before my eyes. Meeting one last time in the justice building. His interview after getting his score. The bloodbath. His only kill. Finally his death. I eye the victor in front of me. Its hard to believe my brother showed anything other than his ferocity to his fellow tributes. Still Katelyn said he wasn't a monster. A victim of the games. That he was. Long before being reaped. "I should be angry with you. You're here alive while my brother now lies under a pile of dirt in a box. Thing is I don't hate you. Nor am I angry. I may never get over my brother's death, but I am happy for you Katelyn." I hope she doesn't fall victim to the grief she'll carry for the rest of her life. She's not what I expected. I've been born in the wrong district evidently. I admire what district eleven has done the past few games. "I'm sure you'll ask yourself this. Why? Well I'd reply with this. Because all life is precious." I give her a smile and offer a handshake in an attempt to show sincerity.

[charade]

[googlefont="Ubuntu:400"]

Katelyn

Persimmon

Orion.

The brother of a career who refused to be one. Somehow, Katelyn didn't feel that he belonged in district two. She could see why Mason had claimed that she reminded him of his brother. Orion deserved better than the hand he had been dealt, but had no way to change it. A boy that cared for his brother despite what Mason had been capable of. And a boy that didn't hate her for coming home when Mason didn't.

All life is precious.

His words, and there was a weight behind them that Katelyn could feel. She took the handshake, but couldn't bring herself to meet his eyes. She would have believed those words a lot more before the arena. Before people had tried to kill her. Before she had killed people herself. She regretted those deaths. She knew that each of the other twenty-three had meant something to someone.

All life was precious, but that didn't mean that everyone got a happy ending. Katelyn just nodded and gave him a hug before she started moving away with Finter. Orion was one of a kind, and for his sake, she hoped that he was never reaped, else a darkening world could lose one of the brightest lights it had left.

made by anzie