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girls who bite || goat
Jun 6, 2019 14:41:03 GMT -5
Post by august vance d7b [Bella] on Jun 6, 2019 14:41:03 GMT -5
Every time Piper found an abandoned house, she hoped to see a roof. They were few and far-between. It was one of those things you didn’t know how to appreciate until you didn’t have one anymore--her mental list of these things had grown over the years. She missed them most when it rained.
In her head she could still hear her mother’s voice saying, “At least we’ve got a roof over our heads and beds to sleep in.” It had been the instant reply to any complaint back in Twelve, when they’d been hungry all day and cold all night. “At least we’ve still got a roof over our heads.” To remember this now felt like a cruel twist of irony.
She only thought she’d known hunger back then. Now she knew its face; it was as cold and inevitable as winter, and just as familiar.
In the summer, she got along well enough on good luck and a sure shot. Deer were too big to carry with her and if she couldn’t manage to use all of the animal, the carcass would attract wolves and cougars, so she’d been shooting squirrels and rabbits. The meat was always bland because, much like her, nothing stored any fat in this forest, especially the rodents. Ripred, she would kill for something else to eat. Or some salt.
The heat today was absolutely boiling, and her mind wandered in dehydration. She thought only of shade and water, ears pricked for signs of a stream. When she found one she washed her face and hands and dunked her matted hair right into it, shivering as the cool water touched her neck. After she drank her fill she began to walk upstream, feet in the water, feeling a bit more human.
She never planned where she was going. It was always a search for the next meal, the next place to sleep. When it had been her and Rhonan, she used to dream of the places they’d find someday. He’d tell her stories of whole villages of people out there beyond the district borders, with farms and houses and scores of newborn babies whose names the Capitol would never know. Babies asleep under real roofs that patter in the rain.
A building came into view as if the thought had summoned it somehow. Piper was sure Lady Luck was on her side most days; all of the shit she’d been through had to have earned her something good, right? The house stood beside the stream just ahead of her, a small one-story made of bricks with a wooden roof that was rotting from the center out. Her breath quickened at the possibility of it. Could be something useful in there, or at the very least a bit of real estate that she could fix up for herself. It looked like it had been abandoned for years, but then again, time ate things quickly in this forest.
Four walls, a concrete floor, and most of a roof. Ducking through the crumbling doorway, she decided it was perfect. There was only one room, but it had the remnants of a fireplace and what used to be a kitchen.
And in the corner, a full shelf of sealed jars.
She walked towards them dreamlike, mouth watering at their colors—red and green, a starchy yellow, and dark brown. Different kinds of beans and potatoes maybe? And the red one looked like tomato sauce. She couldn’t even remember what a tomato tasted like, and her heart fluttered at the thought of it. For the first time in a good while, a grin spread across her hardened face. She grabbed the one that looked like potatoes and fumbled at the lid with eager hands. The seal gave way with an encouraging pop, and she dug into the jar with her fingers, eyes closing in pure bliss at the salty taste of what was inside.
Over her own chewing, she failed to hear the approaching footsteps, and when a face came into view Piper bristled, quickly putting the jar down and stepping in front of the shelf protectively. Seriously? she thought. Can't I catch a break for a few hours?
“Sorry, I just moved in here. If you want this place, you'll need to drag me out.”
In her head she could still hear her mother’s voice saying, “At least we’ve got a roof over our heads and beds to sleep in.” It had been the instant reply to any complaint back in Twelve, when they’d been hungry all day and cold all night. “At least we’ve still got a roof over our heads.” To remember this now felt like a cruel twist of irony.
She only thought she’d known hunger back then. Now she knew its face; it was as cold and inevitable as winter, and just as familiar.
In the summer, she got along well enough on good luck and a sure shot. Deer were too big to carry with her and if she couldn’t manage to use all of the animal, the carcass would attract wolves and cougars, so she’d been shooting squirrels and rabbits. The meat was always bland because, much like her, nothing stored any fat in this forest, especially the rodents. Ripred, she would kill for something else to eat. Or some salt.
The heat today was absolutely boiling, and her mind wandered in dehydration. She thought only of shade and water, ears pricked for signs of a stream. When she found one she washed her face and hands and dunked her matted hair right into it, shivering as the cool water touched her neck. After she drank her fill she began to walk upstream, feet in the water, feeling a bit more human.
She never planned where she was going. It was always a search for the next meal, the next place to sleep. When it had been her and Rhonan, she used to dream of the places they’d find someday. He’d tell her stories of whole villages of people out there beyond the district borders, with farms and houses and scores of newborn babies whose names the Capitol would never know. Babies asleep under real roofs that patter in the rain.
A building came into view as if the thought had summoned it somehow. Piper was sure Lady Luck was on her side most days; all of the shit she’d been through had to have earned her something good, right? The house stood beside the stream just ahead of her, a small one-story made of bricks with a wooden roof that was rotting from the center out. Her breath quickened at the possibility of it. Could be something useful in there, or at the very least a bit of real estate that she could fix up for herself. It looked like it had been abandoned for years, but then again, time ate things quickly in this forest.
Four walls, a concrete floor, and most of a roof. Ducking through the crumbling doorway, she decided it was perfect. There was only one room, but it had the remnants of a fireplace and what used to be a kitchen.
And in the corner, a full shelf of sealed jars.
She walked towards them dreamlike, mouth watering at their colors—red and green, a starchy yellow, and dark brown. Different kinds of beans and potatoes maybe? And the red one looked like tomato sauce. She couldn’t even remember what a tomato tasted like, and her heart fluttered at the thought of it. For the first time in a good while, a grin spread across her hardened face. She grabbed the one that looked like potatoes and fumbled at the lid with eager hands. The seal gave way with an encouraging pop, and she dug into the jar with her fingers, eyes closing in pure bliss at the salty taste of what was inside.
Over her own chewing, she failed to hear the approaching footsteps, and when a face came into view Piper bristled, quickly putting the jar down and stepping in front of the shelf protectively. Seriously? she thought. Can't I catch a break for a few hours?
“Sorry, I just moved in here. If you want this place, you'll need to drag me out.”
