Knightly Duties [Mattio] B-A-T

[*]

Kestrel Elsu

---

A book nestled in her hands. Her dainty fingers gripping the edge of the thin, delicate page just as her eyes washed over each word. The letters and words appeared into her imagination about a boy who takes a girl into a magical land. Her lips draw upward. The fantasy world capitvating her entire attention. The minutes had flown by and her book promply closed with the last page appearing without a single black letter on it.

Sadness seeped from her eyes. Her lower lip poked out as she realized that her entire world in which she had dove into was now gone and reality seemed to step back in front of her with the boring life in district five.

No boys would come to her with the intention of making her life better, it seemed. No friends to make up such unbelievable places that she would always smile into. Instead, the ho-hum draw of life smacked her in the face - wet and slimy.

"EWW! What in the world?" Kestrel jumped up immediately from the bench, looking around for the assailant who threw a , "... what is this? Why is it wet? That is so gross... who?"

She wiped furiously at her face and limped forward, away from the fallen slimy rag. Her heart broke. The book laid sprawled on the ground as she tried to pick it up, but a boot stepped on it first.

"Move, please. That can't get dirty -" A deep voice penetrated her mind, reminding her once again that life was no fairy tale. That here in Panem, a book was the only way to escape - that or death by the games.

"What are you going to do, Kestrel? Cry? Guys - she's going to cry!"

[mat]

kaius judge.

A narrator always appears to be the hero of their own story.

For Kaius Judge, not only did he want that to be the case, but he also wanted it to be the case for everyone’s stories. In his blood lies the desire to help people in need, whether it be him as a sympathetic listening figure or maybe a bystander to stand up for those in trouble. A voice for those who can’t speak for themselves, or maybe too afraid to speak at all.

Kaius walked home with a look of pride on his face. Not because of his A’s (because a B student is what he’d classify as) and not because of his friends who constantly made him laugh. It was the fact that his goal in life seemed so justified, and his confidence in himself was high. He was proud to be Kaius Judge, man of his word and integrity, full of respect and kindness.

Kaius continued walking down the path back home, watching his feet race against each other. The left foot is ahead… but no the right now! He took it one step at a time, just like he did with everything in life.

Then, he heard a voice of laughter with more snickers to follow. ”What are you going to do, Kestrel? Cry? Guys - she's going to cry!”

Kaius looked up from his foot race to see a group of kids around of girl.

He stopped dead in his tracks and just stared.

Bullies. Hate ‘em. he thought, looking at the little girl’s torn and hurt face. The expression was all he needed to know before jogging over to them.

”Hey. Back off,” he said with a stern voice. The kids were all younger and smaller than him. If they were raised like Kaius was, they’d know to respect their elders.

[*]

Kestrel Elsu

---

Tiny fingers wedge themselves underneath the books spine, attempting to pull the book from under boot. She tugs gently, afraid to rip the book and hurt the pages from emitting wonderful fantasy's ever again. She wills the assailant to let it go and she look up to the boy her age, her classmate. She shakes her head, staring at him with a thoughtful expression of pain.

"You can't hurt my book, please." She begs as if the book was a life that she was trying to protect more than her own flesh. "... I was not going to cry -" She interjected the sudden appearance of a stranger. The boot moves off the pages of her portal and kicked just a few inches away from her grasp.

Kestrel stretches to reach, offset from her balance and catches her body with her hands instead of saving the book. A moment of stability later, she's collecting her life into her hands and pressing the dirty book against her dress.

"They were just trying to find out why I don't enjoy their company is all..." She convinces the stranger. Her gaze wanders from the school boys to the very own story that is writing itself right in front of her.

This never happens in real life.

"We're classmates. Who are you?" The chubby, brown haired boy asked, sizing himself up to the newbie. Kestrel, on the other hand, reached her hand out for him to take.

"We can go now, brother. Thank you for meeting me here." She pretended, awaiting the fears that would eminate from the boys.

[mat]

kaius judge.

As a child, Kaius had dreams of rescuing people from a burning home. Saving lives is what he dreamt of doing since a young age, and a moment like this was a perfect example of why. It made him feel good, defending those who seem defenseless. The girl tried to explain that Kaius interjected on a conversation that was a misunderstanding, but the Judge boy didn’t see it so. They were hurting her feelings, mocking her for liking a book she was reading. That was clear to him.

It was obvious, at least to Kaius, that a seventeen year old was much more capable of defending a little girl than a few lower-classmen would be able to offend her. And by the nervousness of the other kids, he felt confident that the situation was in Kaius’s hands.

"We can go now, brother. Thank you for meeting me here,"

Kaius smiled, ”No problem.” He grabbed her hand, pulling her up to her wobbly feet.

He then looked at the boys that once encircled her.

”You only make fun of somebody when you’re jealous of and insecure over what they have,” Kaius spoke as if reading from memory or personal experience. ”So go find what you want somewhere else.”

[*]

Kestrel Elsu

---

His hand melted into hers. The skin to skin contact sent a jolt through her body feeling safety from the onslaught of words and unkind gestures the boys were going to do toward her. It was fairly common, however. For this Elsu, she was born with a deformity in her feet, making her gait shit uncontrollably as she walked and pain was an every day occurrence. It never seemed to keep her from looking on the bright side of things, understanding that some people are just cruel, unfortunately.

Without her family by her side, she was subjected to the reality that they weren't always going to be around. Only, this stranger was this once when she needed it. A genuine smile appeared upon her lips as he played around with her ruse. They looked nothing alike, yet there was a bond already forming. She could feel it.

"I want to thank you for that. Those boy - they didn't mean harm. They only acting like all the other boy in my age group. You have a pleasant and admirable mission and hopefully, they won't act like that when they older." Kestrel's voice sang out in a gentle hum.

With her shifting gait, she found herself a safe distance from where she had left to retract her hand from her, protector of sorts, brother. "I'm glad you were around. My name is Kestrel. I'm of the Elsu family, if you've ever heard of us? Eagel or Falcon? How about Raven?" She wondered. Her fingers danced over the book, rubbing off some of the dirt on the spine.

"They almost ruined my book."

[mat]

kaius judge.

When Kaius was younger, it didn’t feel this easy to help other people who needed you. Back then, he just wanted to grow up happy and a good kid. That’s who he was, a teacher’s pet and the guy that people never seemed to dislike. Not all kids were like that, though, and they were made fun of for it. Shyer kids were poked and pushed to their limits, kids to didn’t look like everyone else were made fun of for it.

Kaius hated to see people in a position of harm, no matter what, and he wanted them to walk away happy. But back in the day, he was afraid to speak up because he didn’t want to turn into them. At eleven or twelve, opinions rapidly change, and relationships can be thrown into the oblivion by the smallest of things. Kaius hated bullies, but he hated being disliked just as much. He liked having friends and keeping them. But as a result, he watched other friends suffer.

He couldn’t change the past, but he was ready to change her future.

The girl thanked him for stepping in. She complimented it, and that made him feel great inside. Doing good was already stellar, but recognition always managed to be the cherry on top. She calls herself Kestrel and begins to list off members of her family. He shook his head when she asked if he knew them. No clue.

”They almost ruined my book.” She wiped the dirt off of her book, and Kaius looked down at it.

”All those kids, they don’t know that there’s better ways to feel happy than hurting people and their possessions,” he spoke gently and with ease. This girl seemed fragile, especially with her wobbling foot. ”And that’s a good thing they didn’t ruin it. Reading is the key to learning, y’know. Not school learning, but wisdom.”

[*]

Kestrel Elsu

---

Kestel's face saddened when he gave her the unfortunate news that he knew not of her family. Not even the eldest of eighteen, Falcon. She still flashed him a sweet, innocent smile.

"All those kids, they don't know that there's better ways to feel happy than hurting peole and their possessions."

She nodded to him and once again hugged the book to her chest. "I understand that. They tease me because I am different but it is no more my fault then their own. They don't understand. That's okay." She tried to keep her own reasoning to escape her lips in order to hear it for retention within her own heart. Hearing that he was glad the book wasn't damaged was enough for her though. It was everything she had to escape from this world.

"Just as I am glad they didn't try to harm you. They are mean." She allowed her words to hum out . He seemed to be very intelligent in the way he spoke about the books were a key to learning. Words were her favorite thing to dive into. Everything was perfect in books, whereas in district five, they were not.

"Too bad, the boy can't be like my stories. This isn't a fantasy though. If it were, we would not be poor and you would not have to rescue me." A girlish grin appeared a moment later. "Unless you are from one of my stories as a gentle knight or good deed man who seeks to prove that chilvalry is not dead." Hope brightened up her face, extracting a gentle, blushing smile.

"Where is your horse?" She teased whole heartedly, but that sparkle remained in her eye.

[mat]

kaius judge.

If there was one thing that made Kaius upset about this girl, it was that she didn't hold the bullies who hurt her and mocked her accountable for what they did. In the Judge family, if Kaius managed to say anything even remotely offensive, there was no doubt that he would be getting a stern lecture come supper. It was confusing that she seemed so understanding of what those boys were doing to her, let alone accept it and take it and not try to defend herself. She went on to be grateful that they didn't try to talk back to or hurt him. He was grateful for that, too. Kaius and his family held firm beliefs against violence and fighting, even if it meant defending a friend. To them, there are always better ways to handle a disagreement or argument than violence.

Kaius smiled when she started talking about her books. Castles. Knights. The Chivalry. Rescuers. Kaius never liked it when the heroes always turned out to be the ones in shining armor. Sometimes, the biggest heroes are the ones you don't hear much from in fairy tales, but rather see the actions of. That's what Kaius wanted to be. A helper. A guardian angel.

”Where is your horse?”

The laugh that flew from his mouth was only half-forced.

”Well, Kestrel, I don't believe that you need to have a horse to be a hero. You just need to have a good heart.”

[*]

Kestrel Elsu

---

Kestrel's cheerful disposition suited her well at the current moment. Her eyes sparkled with a childlike glimmer as her protector stood in front of her. Although she was only teasing, his responce to her about the horse also lead her to produce a small bit of laughter as well and the pages between the hardback covers were squeezed even tighter as she pretended to look around for said animal that was no where in sight.

"Aww. Are you sure that you don't have one hidden? That is a shame. I would have like to see the beautiful beast. I could dream about them forever. Very sturdy creatures, agile and strong. They can carry so much weight and act like it don't bother them. They can be fast and take you to many places." She said dreamily. "I want one some day. All to myself."

She began grinning at him and then let her gaze saunter off into the direction where the boys had been and a sense of security returned to her. She returned her sights back to him when the spot had been vacated. "Do you always go this way home? I've never seen you come this way before."

She held a hand out to shake it, thinking that he was about to be on his way. "May I at least know the name of the one who took such great lengths to make sure the youngest of the Elsu family was safe? I'm sure my big brother will want to thank you if you ever come across him, or even my big sister, Raven. We honor those who do good."